Israel expands its operation in Gaza

Jerusalem Sept. 17: The Israeli military began a ground offensive targeting Gaza City on Tuesday, slowly squeezing in on the Palestinian territory's largest city that has seen block after block already destroyed in the Israel-Hamas war. Residents still in the city were warned they must leave and head south.

The push marks yet another escalation in a conflict that has roiled the Middle East as any potential ceasefire feels even further out of reach despite months of diplomacy. While the military wouldn't offer a timeline for the offensive, Israeli media outlets suggested it could take months.

Earlier in the day, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared that "Gaza is burning" while independent experts commissioned by the United Nations' Human Rights Council announced that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, joining a rising international chorus of such accusations. Israel fiercely rejected the claim, calling the experts' report "distorted and false."

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio left Israel and then made a brief stop in the energy-rich nation of Qatar where he met with its ruling emir whose country is still incensed over Israel's strike last week that killed five Hamas members and a local security official.

Arab and Muslim nations denounced the strike at a summit Monday but stopped short of any major action targeting Israel, highlighting the challenge of diplomatically pressuring any change in Israel's conduct.

Egypt, however, escalated its language against Israel, referring to it as the "enemy" for the first time in years. Qatar and Egypt have been key negotiators in the war.

Rubio said "a negotiated settlement" still remains the best option while acknowledging the dangers an intensified military campaign posed to Gaza. Katz had signaled earlier in the day the operation in Gaza City had begun.

An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with military guidelines, said that the "main phase" of the Gaza City operation had begun, with troops moving in from the city's outskirts toward its center. 

Airstrikes have pounded Gaza City for some time in the lead-up to the operation, knocking down towers in the city.

The official said the Israeli military believes there are approximately 2,000 to 3,000 Hamas militants left in Gaza City, as well as tunnels used by the militant group.

The military estimates 350,000 people have left Gaza City — saying it was about one-third of the city's population before the new ground offensive started.

That contradicted a U.N. estimate issued Monday that over 220,000 Palestinians have fled northern Gaza over the past month, after the Israeli military warned that all residents should leave Gaza City ahead of the operation. 

An estimated 1 million Palestinians were living in the region around Gaza City before the evacuation warnings. Long lines of traffic stretched down Gaza's coastal road Tuesday as the offensive began, with vehicles loaded down with mattresses and people's belongings and others fleeing on foot.

By the end of the current operation, an Israeli military graphic suggested its troops hope to control all of the Gaza Strip except for a large swath along the coast. Palestinian residents reported heavy strikes across Gaza City on Tuesday morning.

By noon, the city's Shifa Hospital had received the bodies of 34 people killed in the strikes, said Dr. Rami Mhanna, a hospital official. Dozens of wounded had also come into the facility, he said.

The Israeli military did not respond to immediate requests for comment on the strikes but in the past has accused Hamas of building military infrastructure inside civilian areas, especially in Gaza City.

Overnight, families of the hostages still being held in Gaza gathered outside of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence, pleading with him to stop the Gaza City operation. Some pitched tents and slept outside his home in protest.

Israel believes around 20 of the 48 hostages still held by the militants in Gaza, including Matan, are alive. Hamas has said it will only free remaining hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Most of the hostages have since been released in ceasefires brokered in part by Qatar or other deals.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,871 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't say how many were civilians or combatants. 

The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, says women and children make up around half the dead.

Egypt, which has had a peace deal with Israel for decades and has served as a mediator in the war in Gaza, appears to be losing its patience with Israel.

Egypt's president, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, described Israel as "an enemy" in a fiery speech at the Qatar summit Monday. 

It was the first time an Egyptian leader used the term since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1979, said Diaa Rashwan, head of Egyptian government's State Information Service.

Egypt was the first Arab country to establish ties with Israel and their peace treaty is seen as a cornerstone for stability in the volatile region. "Egypt is being threatened," Rashwan told the state-run Extra News television late Monday.(AP)