Israeli tanks entered a new area on the outskirts of Gaza City last night, destroying houses and forcing residents to flee, witnesses said on the eve of a "major meeting" expected today on the situation in the Palestinian territory under the chairmanship of US President Donald Trump, Reuters reported, BTA writes.
Late last night, tanks entered the "Ebad-Alrahman" neighborhood on the northern edge of Gaza City. They shelled houses, wounding several people and forcing many others to move further into the Palestinian enclave's largest city, residents said.
“Suddenly we heard tanks entering “Ebad-Alrahman”, the sound of explosions grew louder and we saw people running towards our area,” said Saad Abed, a 60-year-old former construction worker.
“If there is no ceasefire, we will see tanks in front of our homes,” he told Reuters in a chat room on a messaging platform from his home on “Jala” Street in Gaza City – about a kilometer from the "Ebad-Alrahman" neighborhood.
Israel said it was preparing to launch a new offensive in Gaza City, which it described as the last bastion of "Hamas". About half of the enclave's two million population is currently there, but Israel has said they will be ordered to evacuate.
Thousands have already left, but senior clerics in the city said today they would stay because leaving Gaza City and "trying to escape south would be tantamount to a death sentence."
“For this reason, the clergy and nuns have decided to stay and continue to care for all those who will be in the (closed) areas,” said a joint statement by the Orthodox Patriarchate and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
Israeli army spokesman Avihai Adrai said today that “the evacuation of Gaza City is inevitable” and that Israel has begun to assist in delivering tents to the enclave.
„Before we move on to the next phase of the war, I want to confirm that there are vast empty areas in the southern part of the Strip, as is the case in the central camps and in Al-Mawasi. There are no tents in these areas,” he said, referring to residents’ concerns about the lack of space in the central and southern areas.
Palestinian officials and UN officials have said that the Gaza Strip needs about 1.5 million new tents.
US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff said yesterday that Trump would chair a meeting on the Gaza issue at the White House today, adding that Washington expects Israel’s war in the Palestinian territories to be resolved by the end of the year.
The US State Department issued a separate statement saying that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would meet with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar in Washington. It was not clear who would attend the meeting with Trump.
Tanks withdraw, but bombing continues
This afternoon, Israeli tanks withdrew from the outskirts of Gaza City towards the Jabaliya area, where they have been operating for months, but the bombing of three of the city's eastern suburbs – Shejaya, Zeitoun and Sabra - continued.
According to Gaza health authorities, Israeli shelling killed at least 20 people across the enclave, including a four-year-old girl.
The Israeli army said in a statement that its troops were operating in Jabaliya and the outskirts of Gaza City to "destroy terrorist infrastructure sites and eliminate terrorists."
The IDF also said that on August 22, Israel killed a senior Hamas member - Mahmoud Al-Aswad, who was the head of the group's general security service for the western Gaza Strip. "Hamas" did not confirm the killing.
In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing growing opposition to the war.
Yesterday, thousands of Israelis took to the streets across the country to demand an end to the conflict and the release of hostages still being held by “Hamas“ in Gaza.
Israel has yet to publicly comment on the most recent proposal for a 60-day ceasefire, backed by the US, to which the country had previously agreed and which “Hamas“ accepted last week.
The war began on October 7, 2023, when “Hamas“ fighters invaded Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
In the subsequent Israeli military campaign against “Hamas“, at least 62,000 Palestinians were killed, according to Gaza health authorities. The enclave subsequently fell into a humanitarian crisis, with almost the entire population of the strip displaced and much of the territory razed to the ground.
The Gaza Health Ministry reported 10 more deaths from malnutrition and starvation on Monday, bringing the total number of deaths from such causes since the start of the war to 313, including 119 children. Israel has disputed the death toll figures provided by the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled strip.