JERUSALEM(National times)- The Israeli military began a ground offensive targeting Gaza City on Tuesday, slowly squeezing in on the Palestinian territory\u2019s 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\u2019t 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 \u201cGaza is burning\u201d while independent experts commissioned by the United Nations\u2019 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\u2019 report \u201cdistorted and false.\u201dMeanwhile, 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\u2019s strike last week that killed five Hamas members and a local security official. Egypt, however, escalated its language against Israel, referring to it as the \u201cenemy\u201d for the first time in years. Qatar and Egypt have been key negotiators in the war. \u201cWe have a very short window of time in which a deal can happen,\u201d Rubio said. \u201cIt\u2019s a key moment \u2014 an important moment.\u201d Rubio said \u201ca negotiated settlement\u201d still remains the best option while acknowledging the dangers an intensified military campaign posed to Gaza. \u201cThe only thing worse than a war is a protracted one that goes on forever and ever,\u201d Rubio said. \u201cAt some point, this has to end. At some point, Hamas has to be defanged, and we hope it can happen through a negotiation. But I think time, unfortunately, is running out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Intensity of strikes in Gaza City grows
Katz had signaled earlier in the day the operation in Gaza City had begun. \u201cGaza is burning,\u201d he said. \u201cWe will not relent and we will not go back \u2014 until the completion of the mission.\u201d An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with military guidelines, said that the \u201cmain phase\u201d of the Gaza City operation had begun, with troops moving in from the city\u2019s outskirts toward its center. Airstrikes have pounded Gaza City for some time in the leadup 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 \u2014 saying it was about one-third of the city\u2019s 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\u2019s coastal road Tuesday as the offensive began, with vehicles loaded down with mattresses and people\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
JERUSALEM(National times)- The Israeli military began a ground offensive targeting Gaza City on Tuesday, slowly squeezing in on the Palestinian territory\u2019s 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":112182,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-112181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n