Gaza City has come under heavy bombardment, according to the Hamas-run civil defence agency, as Israeli forces prepare for a full-scale operation to seize the city.
Mahmud Bassal, a spokesman for the agency, said residential areas in Zeitoun and Sabra had been struck for three consecutive days, causing “massive destruction to civilian homes” and leaving residents unable to retrieve the dead and wounded.
The UK, EU, Australia, Canada, and Japan issued a joint statement warning that “famine is unfolding in front of our eyes” and urging “immediate, permanent and concrete steps” to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. Israel has denied that starvation exists in the enclave, accusing UN agencies of failing to collect and distribute aid from border crossings.
The statement also demanded an end to lethal force near aid distribution sites and convoys, where the UN says more than 1,300 Palestinians have been killed—mostly by Israeli troops.
Separately, the World Health Organization appealed to Israel to permit stockpiling of medical supplies to address what it called a “catastrophic” health crisis before Israeli forces advance on Gaza City.
“We all hear about ‘more humanitarian supplies are allowed in’—well it’s not happening yet, or it’s happening at a way too low a pace,” said Rik Peeperkorn, WHO’s representative in the Palestinian territories. “We currently cannot [stock up hospitals]. We need to be able to get all essential medicines and medical supplies in.”
On Monday, Israel’s war cabinet voted to move forward with the takeover of Gaza City—a decision condemned at an emergency UN Security Council session. The Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday it was “at the beginning of a new state of combat,” though the government has not given a timetable for the assault.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israeli forces had been ordered to dismantle “two remaining Hamas strongholds” in Gaza City and the central al-Mawasi area. He also unveiled a three-step plan to boost aid deliveries, including safe corridors, increased air drops, and coordination with international partners.
Yet residents say the situation on the ground is worsening. Majed al-Hosary of Zeitoun described the bombardment as “extremely intense for two days.”
“With every strike, the ground shakes. There are martyrs under the rubble that no one can reach because the shelling hasn’t stopped,” he said.
Amr Salah, 25, told Reuters: “Tanks fired shells at houses, and several houses were hit, and the planes carried out what we call fire rings, whereby several missiles landed on some roads in eastern Gaza.”
According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, 100 bodies were brought to hospitals in the past 24 hours, including 31 people killed at aid sites. Five others reportedly died from malnutrition.
Israel’s military campaign, now in its 22nd month, has faced growing international condemnation. UN-backed experts have warned that famine is spreading across the besieged territory. On Tuesday, members of The Elders, a group of former global leaders, called the situation an “unfolding genocide,” accusing Israel of deliberately causing famine.
Helen Clark, former prime minister of New Zealand, and Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland, said after visiting the Gaza border: “What we saw and heard underlines our personal conviction that there is not only an unfolding, human-caused famine in Gaza. There is an unfolding genocide.”
Their remarks echo those of Israeli rights group B’Tselem, which has accused Israel of attempting to “destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip.” Israel rejects the allegations, saying its forces target Hamas militants, not civilians, and blaming the Islamist group for the suffering in Gaza.
On Sunday, the IDF confirmed a targeted strike that killed four Al Jazeera journalists in a media tent in Gaza City, including veteran reporter Anas al-Sharif, whom it alleged was a Hamas cell leader. The army did not comment on the deaths of two freelance journalists. Media watchdogs have criticized Israel for offering little evidence to support its claims.
Al Jazeera’s managing editor accused Israel of trying to “silence the coverage of any channel of reporting from inside Gaza.”
The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas fighters killed more than 1,200 people in Israel and took 251 hostages. Since then, Israel’s offensive has killed at least 61,599 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry figures that the UN considers reliable.
