A new Israeli assault on Gaza on Monday threatened ceasefire talks at a crucial moment, the head of Hamas said, as Israeli tanks pressed into the heart of Gaza City and ordered residents out after a night of massive bombardment.
Residents said the airstrikes and artillery barrages were among the heaviest in nine months of conflict between Israeli forces and Hamas in the enclave. Thousands fled.
The assault unfolded as senior U.S. officials were in the region pushing for a ceasefire after Hamas made major concessions last week. The group said the new offensive appeared intended to derail the talks and called for mediators to rein in Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The assault “could bring the negotiation process back to square one. Netanyahu and his army will bear full responsibility for the collapse of this path,” Hamas quoted leader Ismail Haniyeh as saying.
Gaza City, in the north of the Palestinian enclave, was one of Israel’s first targets at the start of the war in October. But clashes with Hamas there have persisted and civilians have sought shelter elsewhere, adding to waves of displacement. Much of the city lies in ruins.
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Residents said Gaza City neighbourhoods were bombed through the night into the early morning hours of Monday. Several multi-storey buildings were destroyed, they said.
The Gaza Civil Emergency Service said it believed dozens of people were killed but emergency teams were unable to reach them because of ongoing offensives.
Gaza residents said tanks advanced from at least three directions on Monday and reached the heart of Gaza City, backed by heavy Israeli fire from the air and ground.
That forced thousands of people out of their homes to look for safer shelter, which for many was impossible to find, and some slept on the roadside.
One tank thrust pushed people towards the western road near the Mediterranean, residents said.
“The enemy is behind us and the sea is in front of us, where we will we go?” said Abdel-Ghani, a Gaza City resident who did not give his full name.
“Tank shells and missiles from the planes are falling on the roads and houses like hell from a volcano. People are running in all directions, and no one knows where to go,” Abdel-Ghani told Reuters via a chat app.
The Israeli military said fighters with Hamas and allied group Islamic Jihad were hiding behind civilian infrastructure to attack Israeli forces. Israel said it had taken more than 30 fighters out of action.
Later on Monday, it issued new evacuation orders for the Gaza City areas of Sabra, Rimal, Tel Al-Hawa and Daraj, telling people to head to Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. The Israeli military said a route would be opened for civilians to evacuate.
The Palestinian Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades said they fired mortar bombs against Israeli forces during the raid in southwest Gaza City.
The war was triggered on Oct. 7 when fighters led by Hamas, which controlled Gaza, attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
Since then at least 38,193 Palestinians have been killed in the military offensive and 87,903 have been wounded, Gaza’s health ministry said in an update on Monday. A total of 40 Palestinians were killed in the past 24 hours, the ministry said in a statement.Fm
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