Israel’s defence minister declared that “Gaza is burning” on Tuesday after his forces launched a ground offensive across Gaza City, with Palestinian officials reporting a heavy aerial bombardment overnight.
Hospital officials told The Independent that at least 20 Palestinians had been killed and more than 120 injured, with women and children making up most of the victims. “It was a very tough night,” said Dr Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of Shifa hospital in Gaza city.
Israel’s Arabic language spokesperson confirmed the expansion of Israel’s operation in Gaza had begun, just over a week after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu told people in the city to “leave now”.
An Israeli military official described Gaza as an “urban battlefield” and said Israel had control of 40 per cent of the areas around Gaza City – “but not yet the centre”.
“Last night we transitioned into the next phase, or the main phase, of the plan for Gaza City,” the official said. “Our objectives remain unchanged: bringing home the hostages and dismantling Hamas.”
The offensive began even as US secretary of state Marco Rubio visited Jerusalem, where he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the Israeli prime minister. Mr Rubio acknowledged the start of operations in Gaza City and stressed the need for an immediate end to the conflict, and one that eliminates Hamas. Earlier in the visit he promised America’s support for Israel was “unwavering”.
“The Israelis have begun to take operations there. So we think we have a very short window of time in which a deal can happen,” Mr Rubio said before leaving for Qatar. “We don’t have months anymore, and we probably have days and maybe a few weeks to go.”
Tuesday’s developments on the ground came as a two-year UN probe found that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. The investigation, carried out by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry, concluded that Israel had “flagrantly disregarded” international law and “orchestrated a genocidal campaign for almost two years now”.
In its 72-page report, the UN Commission found that Israel has committed four of the five genocidal acts defined by the 1948 Genocide Convention since October 2023. The Commission concluded that Israeli president Isaac Herzog, Mr Netanyahu, and then defence minister Yoav Gallant incited the commission of genocide.
Israel has strongly rejected the report’s findings, calling it “antisemitic… distorted and false”.
Dr Abu Salmiya said the bombing on Monday night targeted several areas in Gaza City, including its northern parts. He said medical teams at Shifa hospital were “exhausted and worn out”.
“The bombing did not stop for a single moment,” he said. “There are still bodies under the rubble.”
Earlier, Mr Netanyahu refused to rule out further strikes on Hamas leaders on foreign soil in the wake of the attack on Qatar that killed six people.
The Israeli leader on Monday argued that every country had the right to “defend itself beyond its borders” while speaking at a press conference in Jerusalem with Mr Rubio. “The principle that terrorists should not have immunity wherever they are, wherever they may be, was not established by me,” Mr Netanyahu said.
Israel bombed Doha on 9 September, targeting Hamas militant leaders who, according to Qatar, were in its capital to discuss Mr Trump’s latest ceasefire proposal for Gaza. The air raid, which was conducted without prior knowledge of either the US or Qatar, marked a significant escalation of Israeli military action in a region already shaken by conflict since the Hamas-led 7 October attacks that ignited the Gaza war.
Qatar, a key mediator and host of talks for Gaza, is also the home of Washington’s largest base in the Middle East.
US president Donald Trump said on Monday he was not informed by Mr Netanyahu in advance about the attack and was not involved in Israel’s decision to strike Qatar. Mr Trump has said twice that Mr Netanyahu “won’t be hitting Qatar”.
Mr Netanyahu and Mr Rubio stood shoulder-to-shoulder on Monday and downplayed the furore that the attack had caused, taking the Trump administration by surprise.
Mr Netanyahu said there was “immense cynicism and hypocrisy” in criticism of Israel over the strike in Qatar targeting Hamas even as Israel’s biggest ally, Mr Trump, joined the global condemnation of Tel Aviv’s airstrike on Doha.
He stressed that the US “acted very boldly against the terrorist havens that were given to al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. The terrorist haven that was given to the chief terrorist [Osama] Bin Laden in Pakistan”. “You don’t have such sovereignty when you are effectively giving a base to terrorists,” Mr Netanyahu added, according to Times of Israel.
Israel’s prime minister claimed “we did it on our own. Period”, when pressed on whether the US had any involvement in the strike. He seemed to acknowledge that Israel did not succeed in killing Hamas leaders, but added that the strike still sent a message to the militant group.
“It didn’t fail because it had one central message and we considered it before we launched it, and that is, you can hide, you can run, but we’ll get you,” Mr Netanyahu added.
Mr Netanyahu made the fiery remarks on Monday as 50 leaders from across the Arab and Islamic world gathered in Qatar’s capital for an emergency meeting in an “unprecedented show of unity” against Israel’s shock bombing of the Gulf state last week.
The leaders who convened in the Gulf state included Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and Emirati president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, whose countries have in the past boycotted Qatar over diplomatic disputes.
The US secretary of state said Hamas must be eliminated and all hostages released for there to be peace in Gaza.
“As much as we may wish that there be a peaceful, diplomatic way to end it, and we’ll continue to explore and be dedicated to it, we also have to be prepared for the possibility that’s not going to happen,” he said, calling Hamas “savage terrorists”. “Hamas needs to cease to exist as an armed element that can threaten the peace and security of the region.”
Israel’s prime minister told Mr Rubio that his presence in Israel was a clear message that “America stands with Israel”. “You stand with us in the face of terror.” There were no signs of Washington’s frustration or annoyance with Israel’s latest moves during Mr Rubio’s visit, even though Mr Trump had made clear his displeasure with Israel’s strike on Qatar.
Before leaving for Qatar, Mr Rubio said Doha and Washington were on the verge of finalising an enhanced defence cooperation agreement. He added that only Qatar had the ability to mediate in Gaza and that Hamas had a limited time to accept the ceasefire deal.
“Obviously they have to decide if they want to do that after last week or not, but we want them to know that if there’s any country in the world that could help end this through a negotiation, it’s Qatar,” Mr Rubio told reporters.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,871 Palestinians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run Strip.
