Israeli occupation forces ignited a large-scale ground assault on Gaza City late Monday, just a day after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Israel to put the administration's weight behind the offensive.
Analysts described the move as a dangerous turning point in the nearly two-year genocidal war, following weeks of escalating airstrikes that already left Gaza smoldering.
Gaza City came under relentless bombardment early Tuesday, unleashing waves of destruction. Palestine TV reported 38 people killed since dawn, eyewitnesses told AFP that entire residential blocks were flattened by Israeli airstrikes. Civil defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal called the attacks “a massacre,” warning that the total death toll was still climbing.
Eyewitnesses described the bombardment as the most intense since the war began. “Heavy, relentless bombing on Gaza City”, which has levelled homes and left people trapped under the rubble, engulfs the people of Gaza, a witness told AFP news.
Divisions inside Israel
The Jerusalem Post reported that the decision to ignite the ground offensive sparked deep debate inside Israel’s security establishment.
Military chief of staff Eyal Zamir was among senior commanders who initially opposed the push before yielding to orders from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu defended the assault, claiming it would deliver Hamas “a greater defeat than in the past two years.”
On Tuesday morning, Defense minister Israel Katz fanned the flames further after the strikes. “Gaza is burning. We will not retreat until we complete our mission,” he wrote on X.
The Israeli “Hostages Families Forum” expressed fury at the escalation, warning it could seal the captives’ fate. “The 710th night in Gaza might be the last night of the ability to locate and return the slain hostages for a proper burial,” the group said in a statement.
Israel claims Hamas is holding 48 Israeli captives, including 20 alive, while more than 10,800 Palestinians remain detained in Israel, with rights groups documenting widespread torture and medical neglect.
US backing and regional fallout
The ground invasion followed Rubio’s meeting with Netanyahu in Jerusalem, where he voiced Washington’s support for the operation before flying to Qatar. He said Hamas had “a very short time” to accept a ceasefire deal, though stressed that US preference remained a negotiated settlement.
Israel’s war on Gaza, which began on Oct. 7, 2023, has killed about 65,000 Palestinians and injured more than 164,000, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. At least 413 people, including 143 children, have died from famine caused by Israel’s blockade on aid.
On Tuesday, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory concluded that “the state of Israel had committed a genocide” as its relentless assault on the Strip approaches its second year.
