Israel Says ‘Gaza Is Burning’ as It Launches Ground Assault
Israel unleashed a long-threatened ground assault on Gaza City on Tuesday, declaring “Gaza is burning” as Palestinians there described the most intense bombardment they had faced in two years of war.
An Israel military official said ground troops were moving deeper into the enclave’s main city, and that the number of soldiers would rise in coming days to confront up to 3,000 Hamas combatants the army believes are still in the city.
“Gaza is burning,” Defense Minister Israel Katz posted on X. “The army strikes with an iron fist at the terrorist infrastructure and soldiers are fighting bravely to create the conditions for the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas.”
In launching the assault, Israel’s government defied European leaders threatening sanctions and warnings from even some of Israel’s own military commanders that it could be a costly mistake.
US President Donald Trump sided with Israel, telling reporters at the White House that Hamas would have “hell to pay” if it used hostages as human shields during the assault.
In the latest expression of international alarm, a United Nations Commission of Inquiry concluded that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza. Israel called the assessment “scandalous” and “fake”.
Gaza health officials reported at least 50 people killed on Tuesday, most in Gaza City, as airstrikes swept across the city and tanks advanced.
Where a missile had destroyed two multi-storey residential buildings in the middle of the night, people clambered over an immense mound of dislocated concrete to pry out victims, footage obtained by Reuters showed. A woman cried as a small child’s body was pulled from the wreckage, hastily wrapped in a green blanket and carried away.
