Amidst the ongoing prisoner exchange talks involving Hamas, the Israeli military launched a combined ground and aerial assault on Gaza City just before dawn on 16 September, after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio flew into Israel to give his full support for the operation.
It comes as a United Nations probe concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others of incitement. A week earlier, Israeli planes bombed a building in Qatar during the day, in an attempt to kill the Hamas negotiating delegation there. Hamas said its negotiators survived.
This week’s military campaign forms part of a broader offensive aimed at forcing a full evacuation of Gaza’s population, under the pretext of dismantling Hamas and of rescuing hostages. The decision came after a heated exchange between Netanyahu and Israeli army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir. The latter ultimately acquiesced and ordered sustained artillery and missile strikes on densely populated residential areas.
Campaign of incineration
The bombardment has led to a significant number of civilian casualties. Many remain trapped beneath the rubble, with rescuers unable to reach the wounded owing to the intensity of the shelling. A pattern has emerged of Israeli strikes on inhabited homes. Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, boasted on X: “Gaza is burning. The IDF strikes with an iron fist at the terrorist infrastructure, and IDF soldiers are fighting bravely to create the conditions for the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas.”
This is a campaign of destruction and incineration across the city, with Israel dropping leaflets ordering residents to move south. Reports on 17 September suggest that Al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital was targeted in three separate Israeli attacks, forcing patients and their families to flee. Dozens have been killed since the operation began.
US President Donald Trump, who flew to the UK for a state visit shortly after the operation began, now appears to be pursuing a dual-track strategy. The first involves Qatari mediation, which remains ongoing despite the failed Israeli assassination attempt in the capital, Doha. The second track involved greater Israeli military pressure on Gaza's civilian population. In both cases, the US wants Hamas to surrender and hand over all Israelis still being held without conditioning that on an Israeli withdrawal.
In recent days, Israel has bombed and demolished several residential tower blocks and entire neighbourhoods through direct aerial strikes and robot-deployed explosives, forcing civilians towards Gaza's western coast. Israeli ground reinforcements were called after residents refused to be displaced. This was accompanied by a surge in bombardment, targeting homes and civilians.
Grim choices
Israeli tactics give Gaza's Palestinians two grim choices: die in an airstrike, or be forcibly displaced under fire towards southern Gaza, where civilians also face bombardments targeting homes, buildings, roads, and gatherings. There is no escape from the threat of death under the pretext of pursuing Hamas and dismantling its infrastructure.
