Thousands Flee Gaza City Amid Israeli Ground Offensive
Israel intensifies its ground campaign in Gaza City, displacing hundreds of thousands and drawing international condemnation as hostilities escalate.
Thousands Flee Gaza City Amid Israeli Ground Offensive
Israel has intensified its ground campaign in Gaza City, aiming to dismantle what it calls Hamas’s last stronghold and free hostages. Overnight airstrikes forced half the patients and families to evacuate al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported targeting over 150 militant positions in two days and said it is investigating hospital strike claims. The military says up to 3,000 Hamas fighters remain in the city.
International aid groups have condemned the offensive as “inhuman,” urging urgent intervention. More than 20 agencies warned world leaders that conditions in Gaza are unconscionable.
Since the offensive began, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have fled south on overcrowded coastal roads toward an Israel-designated humanitarian zone in al-Mawasi. On Wednesday, the IDF opened a second evacuation route along the Salah al-Din road for 48 hours.
Families face steep costs: renting a truck can run about 3,000 shekels, and a tent for five costs around 4,000. Lina al-Maghrebi, a mother from Sheikh Radwan, said she sold jewelry to pay 3,500 shekels to reach Khan Younis after a 10-hour journey.
Aid groups and UN agencies warn the so-called safe zone is overcrowded and lacks capacity for the estimated 2 million Palestinians expected to arrive. Some evacuees who found no space have returned north.
The IDF says around 350,000 people fled Gaza City, while UN estimates put the figure at 190,000 since August, leaving at least 650,000 in the city. Israeli forces have also used modified remote-controlled vehicles packed with explosives to strike Hamas positions.
Meanwhile, families of the 48 remaining hostages protested outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence, warning the offensive could imperil captives still in Gaza. UN human rights chief Volker Türk called the operation “utterly unacceptable,” and UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper labelled it “reckless and appalling.”
The UN Commission of Inquiry has accused Israel of genocide in Gaza, citing attacks on civilians, cultural sites and evidence of sexual violence. Israel’s foreign ministry has rejected the report as false and distorted.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have fled Gaza City under intense bombardment and military pressure, raising urgent humanitarian alarms and global condemnation.
This topic was reported by BBC.
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