Gaza City — Israel has launched the first stages of its long-prepared offensive on Gaza City, escalating a war that has already devastated the besieged enclave and left much of its civilian population starving, displaced, or trapped under constant bombardment.
Despite Israel’s repeated claims of striking Hamas positions, there have been no verified reports of Hamas militant deaths in recent days. Instead, the death toll has been almost entirely Palestinian, with civilians slaughtered in their homes, in hospitals, and on the streets. The reality on the ground shows not a war against armed militants but a deliberate war of extermination waged against Palestinian civilians to occupy the Palestinian lands. It is reflecting like Hitler’s actions, with collective punishment, mass killings, and forced displacement echoing some of history’s darkest crimes.
According to statements from the Israeli military, thousands of reservists, estimated at nearly 60,000, have been mobilized to back the new ground campaign. The assault, branded as “Operation Gideon’s Chariots II,” marks a strategic shift from months of airstrikes and smaller incursions to a full-scale push into Gaza’s most populated urban center.
The attack has already left dozens dead in a matter of hours, with hospitals overwhelmed and neighborhoods reduced to rubble. Aid groups warn of catastrophic consequences, as the ongoing genocide in Gaza is already enduring mass famine, a collapsed health system, and relentless strikes targeting schools, hospitals, and residential blocks.
UN Special Committee finds Israel’s warfare methods in Gaza consistent with genocide, including the use of starvation as a weapon of war. The United Nations has condemned Israel’s siege tactics as violations of international law, with growing accusations of genocide in Gaza.
For Palestinians inside Gaza, the assault represents yet another chapter of dispossession and mass suffering, as entire families are buried beneath collapsed buildings and survivors face forced displacement. Critics argue that Israel’s so-called security narrative serves only to justify the destruction of civilian life while the US and Western allies continue to provide political and military cover for what human rights observers describe as crimes against humanity.
The offensive comes as Hamas signaled willingness to accept a 60-day ceasefire proposal, which included staged hostage releases and the freeing of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, many of them women and minors held without trial. Israel’s refusal to reciprocate, while pushing ahead with its Gaza City invasion, has further fueled global condemnation and widened protests even within Israeli society.
According to The Guardian, Israel began pounding Gaza City on Wednesday, killing at least 81 Palestinians, as reservists were called to join the military buildup. The report notes that the operation signals the official beginning of Israel’s plan to seize control of Gaza’s heart, despite international outcry over the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
