Palestinians Flee as Israeli Troops Push Into Gaza City

Fleeing Palestinians clogged the roads south from Gaza City on Tuesday, while many others remained in the ruined city, as the Israeli military said it had launched a much-anticipated ground offensive to take control of an urban center it calls a Hamas stronghold.

The ground operation and intensifying Israeli bombardment are deepening the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, in a nearly two-year-long war that has already killed tens of thousands of people. Palestinians in Gaza City described scenes of panic as Israel pounded the area with heavy airstrikes, and local health officials said that more than 20 people had been killed and dozens more wounded.

“We are all terrified,” said Montaser Bahja, a former schoolteacher sheltering in an apartment in western Gaza City near the coast. “Death would be more merciful than what we’re living through.”

The operation, which began overnight, had been building up for weeks, with Israel saying that a takeover of the city was necessary to prevent Hamas from regrouping and planning future attacks. Israel had been telling civilians to evacuate the city, where hundreds of thousands of people were sheltering.

On Tuesday morning the Israeli military said that three divisions of active duty and reserve troops had begun “expanded ground operations in Gaza City.”In a statement on Tuesday, the military said that 850 targets had been struck by air in Gaza City over the past week in preparation for the ground assault.

The assault drew fierce international criticism and has dimmed hopes for a cease-fire agreement.

Here’s what else to know:

Hamas response: Hamas condemned the ground operation and how it would worsen the humanitarian “catastrophe” engulfing Gaza. In a statement, the militant group called on the international community to intervene against Israel and the new ground offensive, which it accused the United States of enabling.
Yemen: As it moved on Gaza City, Israel’s military said it had also struck a “military infrastructure site” at the Hudaydah Port in Yemen that it described as a key conduit for Houthi fighters to receive weapons from Iran and use them to strike Israel. Al-Masirah TV, a Houthi-linked broadcaster, reported a number of strikes had hit the port. Later on Tuesday, sirens sounded in Israel and the military said it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen.
U.N. inquiry: A United Nations commission investigating the war in Gaza said Tuesday that Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians, the panel’s most sweeping findings yet about the Israeli government’s conduct in the conflict. Israel has repeatedly rejected allegations of genocide from scholars and human rights groups, saying the target of its military campaign is Hamas.
Humanitarian crisis: After nearly two years of Israel’s retaliatory war against Hamas, the Gaza Strip has been largely leveled and parts of it are experiencing famine, according to a recent report by the United Nations. More than 64,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gazan health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians