Gazans flee as Israel launches ground offensive; Trump issues 'big trouble' warning | Top Updates
Long lines of cars and trucks strapped with mattresses and other belongings were seen on Gaza’s coastal road, as people fled the city.
The Israeli military on Tuesday launched the "main phase" of its ground offensive to completely occupy Gaza City as thousands of people in the Palestinian territory's largest city streamed out in vehicles laden with their belongings.
According to the Associated Press, long lines of cars and trucks strapped with mattresses and other belongings were seen on Gaza’s coastal road, as people fled the city. Many people were crowded on top of vehicles, while others made their way on foot.
The operation marks yet another escalation in a conflict that has roiled the Middle East for nearly two years and likely pushes any ceasefire farther out of reach.
Here's the latest update:
- Israeli defense minister Israel Katz declared that “Gaza is burning” as the operation began, and heavy bombardment battered the city overnight and into the morning.
- An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press that the “main phase” of the Gaza City operation had begun, with troops moving in from the city's outskirts toward its center.
- The official added that the Israeli military estimated about 2,000 to 3,000 Hamas militants are left in Gaza City, as well as tunnels used by the militant group.
- US President Donald Trump warned that Hamas would be in "big trouble" if they use hostages in Gaza as human shields during a new offensive launched by Israel. "We'll wait to hear what happens, because I hear Hamas is trying to use the old human shield deal, and if they do that they're going to be in big trouble," Trump told reporters.
- The development comes on a day when the United Nations Commission of Inquiry has concluded that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza and that top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, incited these acts.
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- The UN commission in its report has cited examples of the scale of the killings, aid blockages, forced displacement and the destruction of a fertility clinic to back up its genocide finding.
- Israel has refuted the findings, calling the report “scandalous”, "fake", and even saying that it had been authored by "Hamas proxies".
- On Tuesday morning, heavy strikes were reported in Gaza City. By noon, the city's Shifa Hospital said it received the bodies of 34 people killed in the strikes. “A very tough night in Gaza,” Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiya, the hospital's director, told The Associated Press. “The bombing did not stop for a single moment."
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- In Israel, families of the hostages still being held in Gaza gathered outside Netanyahu's residence, pleading with him to stop the Gaza City operation. “I have one interest — for this country to wake up and bring back my child along with 47 other hostages, both living and deceased, and to bring our soldiers home," Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is being held in Gaza, shouted outside Netanyahu's residence.
- Meanwhile, Israel also launched a strike on Yemen's Huthi-held Hodeida port, saying it targeted infrastructure used by the Iran-backed rebels.
Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza was triggered by the deadly attack on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people and led to the capture of 251 hostages.
The subsequent war in Gaza has killed more than 64,000 people, according to Gaza health officials, while a global hunger monitor says part of the territory is suffering from famine.
