Israel plans to completely destroy Gaza City
25 August 11:02
Israel this month approved a plan to seize Gaza City, which it calls the last stronghold of Hamas militants. A full-scale offensive on the city is expected in a few weeks, leaving time for mediators from Egypt and Qatar to try to restart truce talks. This is reported "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to Reuters.
Israel’s ultimatum
Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz categorically stated that Gaza City will be destroyed if Hamas does not agree to end the war on Israel’s terms and does not release all hostages. He said the offensive would continue despite all international warnings.
Hamas responded by saying that Israeli plans to seize the city showed that it was not serious about the truce. A ceasefire agreement is “the only way to return the hostages,” the organization stressed, placing responsibility for the fate of the captives on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Now on the table is a proposal for a 60-day truce and the exchange of 10 live hostages and 18 bodies for some 200 long-term Palestinian prisoners. After the temporary truce, the sides are to begin talks on a permanent ceasefire and the return of the remaining 50 hostages.
Gaza City is now home to about half of the enclave’s two million residents. Several thousand people have already begun evacuating, carrying their belongings in vehicles and rickshaws, but many residents refuse to leave their homes due to lack of funds and fear of uncertainty.
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Hunger
The Global Hunger Monitoring Organization said Friday that Gaza City and surrounding areas are suffering from a famine that is likely to spread to other areas. Israel rejects the assessment, saying it ignores measures to step up humanitarian aid.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said 289 people, including 115 children, have died of malnutrition and starvation since the war began. Eight new deaths from exhaustion were recorded on Sunday alone, indicating a critical deterioration in the humanitarian situation.
Preparing for the offensive
Amid preparations for the offensive, Israeli planes and tanks launched massive strikes on the eastern and northern outskirts of Gaza City overnight Saturday and Sunday. Witnesses reported continuous explosions in the Zeitoun and Shejaiya neighborhoods, shelling of residential buildings in the Sabra neighborhood and the blowing up of several buildings in the northern town of Jabaliya.
The Israeli military attributed the night operations to the need to destroy the militants’ underground tunnels and strengthen control over the territory before the upcoming full-scale offensive. Fire from the explosions lit up the sky, causing panic among civilians and forcing some families to flee the city in an emergency.
The conflict began on Oct. 7, 2023, with an attack by Hamas militants on Israel in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 hostages were taken. Israeli military action has since killed at least 62,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
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