Palestinians flee Gaza City as Israel launches ground assault amid global outcry

Palestinians flee Gaza City as Israel launches ground assault amid global outcry

A major Israeli ground offensive into Gaza City forced thousands of Palestinians to flee on Tuesday as heavy bombardment and advancing armoured columns turned parts of the coastal enclave into a war zone and deepened an already catastrophic humanitarian emergency that aid agencies say is verging on collapse.

Israeli forces said the operation — described by Defence Minister Israel Katz with the stark phrase “Gaza is burning” — was aimed at dismantling entrenched Hamas infrastructure and rooting out fighters in the densely populated city. The Israel Defense Forces said the ground phase would involve armour, infantry and remotely operated explosive-laden vehicles and could take weeks or months as it pressed into neighbourhoods that have been pounded by airstrikes and artillery for months. Israeli officials framed the move as part of a campaign to degrade Hamas and secure the release of hostages taken during cross-border attacks, but provided few details on precise military timelines. 

For civilians the result has been immediate and brutal. Vehicles laden with mattresses, water and a few possessions clogged coastal arteries as families tried to move south out of Gaza City; many others remained trapped in the north, lacking money, transport or safe places to go. Eyewitnesses and local journalists described neighbourhoods awash in smoke and rubble after intense overnight strikes, with rescue teams racing to free people buried under collapsed apartment blocks. Local health authorities and hospital sources reported dozens killed in and around Gaza City on Tuesday alone as the bombardment intensified. 

The mass movement of civilians amplified warnings from U.N. and humanitarian bodies that there is nowhere safe left to send people in Gaza. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and other agencies have repeatedly said the scale of displacement, the destruction of infrastructure, and the near-total collapse of food, water and medical supplies make an orderly, safe evacuation impossible. OCHA updates issued this month described repeated waves of displacement from Gaza City driven by ground operations and bombardment, and noted that the humanitarian response is struggling to reach people in need. 

Health and aid organisations say the civilian toll of the wider conflict has been enormous. Gaza’s health ministry and independent monitors point to tens of thousands of deaths since the war began, with large numbers of civilians among the dead and many more wounded. International health agencies have also documented rising deaths from malnutrition and a dire public-health situation: the World Health Organization reported hundreds of deaths linked to malnutrition and warned that famine conditions persist in parts of the territory. Those figures, compounded by the effects of sustained bombardment and the destruction of medical facilities, underscore the widening humanitarian catastrophe. 

The offensive drew swift and sharp international reaction. United Nations experts and several governments condemned the operation’s scale and warned of catastrophic consequences for civilians; a U.N. commission has released a report saying the conduct of Israel’s campaign in Gaza raised questions of genocidal intent — a charge the Israeli government vehemently rejects. European capitals, including London and Berlin, described the operation as reckless or the wrong approach, while Turkey and other regional actors warned that the ground assault risked triggering further mass displacement and regional escalation. At the same time, some Western officials reiterated political and military support for Israel’s right to defend itself while urging steps to protect civilians and expand humanitarian access. 

Humanitarian organisations on the ground described chaotic scenes. Relief workers said thousands arriving at displacement sites found little or no shelter, inadequate sanitation, no steady water supply and only intermittent deliveries of food and medicine. International agencies have repeatedly flagged that the siege-like conditions — restrictions on crossings, damaged ports and the insecurity of aid convoys — have undermined the delivery of life-saving assistance, with U.N. and aid officials calling for immediate, unhindered access for humanitarian supplies and personnel. The International Committee of the Red Cross and U.N. agencies have warned that a mass evacuation cannot be carried out in a safe and dignified manner under current conditions. 

Israeli leaders defended the need for the ground phase, saying it was a painful but necessary step to eliminate Hamas’s capability to stage attacks and to recover hostages. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence officials have framed the offensive as a continuation of a campaign that, they argue, can only end when Hamas is militarily broken. Critics — including human rights groups and a number of foreign governments — counter that the scale and methods of the operation risk catastrophic civilian harm and could amount to serious violations of international humanitarian law. 

Analysts and diplomats warned that the ground operation could widen humanitarian and political fallout. With living conditions already catastrophic and with reports of malnutrition and famine-like conditions mounting, a prolonged ground offensive risks further collapsing basic services and creating larger populations of internally displaced people who are effectively homeless. The diplomatic repercussions were already visible; calls for ceasefires and intensified diplomatic pressure on both sides grew louder even as regional tensions spiked. 

As night fell over Gaza City on Tuesday, the immediate picture was grim and uncertain. Thick plumes of smoke hung over parts of the city, medics and volunteers continued to search through wreckage for survivors, and thousands more people were preparing for yet another night away from home. For humanitarian agencies, the concern was not only the immediate survival of civilians but the erosion of the few remaining systems that once allowed basic aid to flow — a dynamic that, if unchecked, threatens to turn tactical military gains into strategic disaster for Gaza’s population. The coming days will test whether diplomatic pressure, humanitarian appeals and operational restraint can blunt the worst effects of an offensive that now appears to be entering a dangerous new phase.