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JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli subject began a ground violative targeting Gaza City connected Tuesday, dilatory squeezing successful connected the Palestinian territory's largest metropolis that has seen artifact aft artifact already destroyed successful the Israel-Hamas war. Residents inactive successful the metropolis were warned they indispensable permission and caput south.
The propulsion marks yet different escalation successful a struggle that has roiled the Middle East, arsenic immoderate imaginable ceasefire feels adjacent further retired of scope contempt months of diplomacy. While the subject wouldn't connection a timeline for the offensive, Israeli media outlets suggested it could instrumentality months.
Earlier successful the day, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared that “Gaza is burning” portion autarkic experts commissioned by the United Nations’ Human Rights Council announced that Israel is committing genocide successful Gaza, joining a rising planetary chorus of specified accusations.
Israel fiercely rejected the claim, calling the experts' study “distorted and false."
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio near Israel and arrived successful the energy-rich federation of Qatar for talks with its ruling emir whose state is inactive incensed implicit Israel’s onslaught past week that killed 5 Hamas members and a section information official.
Arab and Muslim nations denounced the onslaught astatine a acme Monday but stopped abbreviated of immoderate large enactment targeting Israel, highlighting the situation of diplomatically pressuring immoderate alteration successful Israel's conduct. Egypt, however, escalated its connection against Israel, referring to it arsenic the “enemy” for the archetypal clip successful years.
“We person a precise abbreviated model of clip successful which a woody tin happen,” Rubio said. “It's a cardinal infinitesimal — an important moment.”
Rubio said "a negotiated settlement" inactive remains the champion enactment portion acknowledging the dangers an intensified subject run posed to Gaza.
“The lone happening worse than a warfare is simply a protracted 1 that goes connected everlastingly and ever,” Rubio said. “At immoderate point, this has to end. At immoderate point, Hamas has to beryllium defanged, and we anticipation it tin hap done a negotiation. But I deliberation time, unfortunately, is moving out.”
Intensity of strikes successful Gaza City grows
Katz had signaled earlier successful the time the cognition successful Gaza City had begun.
“Gaza is burning,” helium said. "We volition not relent and we volition not spell backmost — until the completion of the mission.”
An Israeli subject official, speaking connected information of anonymity successful enactment with subject guidelines, said that the “main phase” of the Gaza City cognition had begun, with troops moving successful from the city's outskirts toward its center. Airstrikes person pounded Gaza City for immoderate clip successful the leadup to the operation, knocking down towers successful the city.
The authoritative said the Israeli subject believes determination are astir 2,000 to 3,000 Hamas militants near successful Gaza City, arsenic good arsenic tunnels utilized by the militant group. The subject estimates 350,000 radical person near Gaza City — saying it was astir one-third of the city's colonisation earlier the caller crushed violative started.
That contradicted a U.N. estimation issued Monday that implicit 220,000 Palestinians person fled bluish Gaza implicit the past month, aft the Israeli subject warned that each residents should permission Gaza City up of the operation. An estimated 1 cardinal Palestinians were surviving successful the portion astir Gaza City earlier the evacuation warnings.
At slightest 34 Palestinians killed successful Gaza City
Palestinian residents reported dense strikes crossed Gaza City connected Tuesday morning.
By noon, the city's Shifa Hospital had received the bodies of 34 radical killed successful the strikes, said Dr. Rami Mhanna, a infirmary official. Dozens of wounded had besides travel into the facility, helium said.
“A precise pugnacious nighttime successful Gaza,” Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiyah, the hospital's director, told The Associated Press. “The bombing did not halt for a azygous moment."
The Israeli subject did not respond to contiguous requests for remark connected the strikes but successful the past has accused Hamas of gathering subject infrastructure wrong civilian areas, particularly successful Gaza City.
Families of hostages beg Netanyahu to halt the operation
Overnight, families of the hostages inactive being held successful Gaza gathered extracurricular of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence, pleading with him to halt the Gaza City operation.
Some pitched tents and slept extracurricular his location successful protest.
“I person 1 involvement — for this state to aftermath up and bring backmost my kid on with 47 different hostages, some surviving and deceased, and to bring our soldiers home," Einav Zangauker, whose lad Matan is being held successful Gaza, shouted extracurricular Netanyahu's residence.
“If helium stops astatine thing and sends our precious, brave, heroic soldiers to combat portion our hostages are being utilized arsenic quality shields — helium is not a worthy premier minister,” Zangauker.
Israel believes astir 20 of the 48 hostages inactive held by the militants successful Gaza, including Matan, are alive. Hamas has said it volition lone escaped remaining hostages successful instrumentality for Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
The warfare successful Gaza began erstwhile Hamas-led militants stormed into confederate Israel connected Oct. 7, 2023, sidesplitting astir 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Most of the hostages person since been released successful ceasefires brokered successful portion by Qatar oregon different deals.
Israel’s retaliatory violative has killed astatine slightest 64,871 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t accidental however galore were civilians oregon combatants. The ministry, which is portion of the Hamas-run authorities and staffed by aesculapian professionals, says women and children marque up astir fractional the dead.
Egypt escalates its rhetoric against Israel
Egypt, which has had a bid woody with Israel for decades and has served arsenic a mediator successful the warfare successful Gaza, appears to beryllium losing its patience with Israel.
Egypt's president, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, described Israel arsenic “an enemy” successful a fiery code astatine the Qatar acme Monday. It was the archetypal clip an Egyptian person utilized the word since the 2 countries established diplomatic ties successful 1979, said Diaa Rashwan, caput of Egyptian government's State Information Service.
Egypt was the archetypal Arab state to found ties with Israel and their bid pact is seen arsenic a cornerstone for stableness successful the volatile region.
“Egypt is being threatened,” Rashwan told the state-run Extra News tv precocious Monday.
El-Sissi's “enemy” remark played prominently crossed Egyptian newspapers' beforehand pages connected Tuesday and portion Cairo has taken nary steps to alteration its presumption with Israel, the Egyptian authorities apt is trying to awesome conscionable however earnestly it takes Israel's caller actions.
Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Matthew Lee successful Munich, Germany, and Josef Federman successful Jerusalem contributed to this report.
