Civilians face escalating violence and displacement as military readies ground offensive
Israeli forces have intensified attacks on the outskirts of Gaza City, residents report, as the military ramps up preparations for a ground offensive. Hospitals confirmed that more than 30 Palestinians, including women and children, were killed in strikes on Wednesday, primarily in the city’s north and west.
The Israeli military’s chief of staff vowed to “continue striking Hamas’s centres of gravity until it is defeated” and to secure the release of hostages. Meanwhile, the UN and aid agencies warned that the operations were causing “horrific humanitarian consequences” for families already displaced within Gaza City, which is home to around one million residents and declared a famine last month.
Israeli protesters staged a “day of disruption” demanding an immediate end to the war in exchange for the release of all hostages. At least 46 people have been killed since midnight across the Gaza Strip due to airstrikes and gunfire. Shifa Hospital reported that 21 bodies, including five from a strike in Fisherman’s Port, were received, with harrowing accounts of children surviving attacks that killed entire families.
Witnesses reported incendiary bombs dropped near clinics and grenades targeting schools serving as shelters in Sheikh Radwan, while armored vehicles destroyed homes in the east of the neighborhood. Residents described the neighborhood as “being burnt upside-down,” with drones broadcasting messages ordering families to evacuate.
The UN warned that forced movement of hundreds of thousands of people could constitute forcible transfer under international law, as overcrowded southern Gaza tent camps and hospitals struggle to accommodate the displaced. Since 14 August, more than 82,000 people have been newly displaced.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed Israel’s intent to conquer all of Gaza after ceasefire and hostage release talks with Hamas broke down. Families of hostages fear the offensive could endanger captives in Gaza City, calling instead for a negotiated agreement.
The ongoing campaign follows Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. Since then, at least 63,746 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza, with hundreds dying from malnutrition and starvation, according to local health authorities.