Israel has launched a new ground operation in Gaza
Rights — di Luigi Mastrodonato
Heavy bombardments and tanks. This is how Israel launched a new phase of the genocide in Gaza, with the aim of occupying the entire territory.
Israel has launched a new ground operation in Gaza
Heavy bombardments and tanks. This is how Israel launched a new phase of the genocide in Gaza, with the aim of occupying the entire territory.
The Israeli army has launched a new military operation on the Gaza Strip, with intense bombardments and a tank invasion. In the space of twenty minutes, at least 37 attacks were carried out, targeting Gaza City in particular, with buildings razed to the ground and thousands of people forced to evacuate in the middle of the night.
"Gaza is burning," announced Israel Katz, Israel's Defence Minister, in what appears to be the beginning of the long-announced ground invasion. Meanwhile, the UN has accused Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinian people.
The new Israeli offensive in Gaza
The new Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, and on Gaza City in particular, began in the final hours of Monday, 15 September. The Israeli army struck Palestinian territory with warplanes, artillery and drones, and in the space of twenty minutes as many as 37 attacks were recorded. At the same time, Israeli sources confirmed the entry of tanks into the city, in what appears to be a first phase of the ground invasion approved in August. That plan envisaged an extension to Gaza City of the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip, which today corresponds to approximately 75 per cent of the territory.
The first images following the bombardments show thousands of people fleeing under cover of darkness, after Israel had issued evacuation orders from the city towards the south in recent weeks. People, however, have nowhere left to go: there are no safe zones, and the vast majority of the Strip — buildings and infrastructure alike — has been reduced to rubble. The initial toll from the Israeli military offensive stands at dozens of deaths, including several children.
"We have launched an intense operation in Gaza," announced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "Gaza is burning," wrote Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz. From Tel Aviv, it was made known that the objective of this new phase of the military offensive on the Gaza Strip — a genocide that has so far claimed over 64,000 lives — is the control of key urban areas in order to dismantle Hamas's operational capacity and free the 48 remaining hostages.
🇮🇱💥🇵🇸 Massive airstrikes have been reported in Gaza City, with heavy civilian casualties already reported.
According to Axios, Israel has launched its ground offensive on the city.
Earlier today, during a joint press conference with Netanyahu, Marco Rubio openly backed
According to Axios, Israel has launched its ground offensive on the city.
Earlier today, during a joint press conference with Netanyahu, Marco Rubio openly backed
The UN accuses Israel of genocide
Shortly after the start of the new military offensive on the Gaza Strip, relatives of Israeli hostages organised a sit-in protest outside Netanyahu's residence. These families have long been calling for a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Navi Pillay, head of the UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, stated that Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip. According to the Commission, Israeli armed forces have committed four of the five genocidal acts listed in the 1948 Genocide Convention, specifically "killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group, deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part, and imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group".