(Reuters) – The Israeli military launched a ground offensive on Monday to seize Gaza City, the enclave’s largest urban centre, Axios reported, citing Israeli officials.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to request for comment on the reported move, which comes after weeks of intensive Israeli strikes on the city.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military last month to capture Gaza City, which he describes as a stronghold of the militant group Hamas that launched the October 2023 surprise attack on Israel.
The military has since laid siege to the Gaza Strip, creating a humanitarian catastrophe with widespread destruction, mass displacement and severe shortages of food and water.
Israeli forces have been operating on the outskirts of Gaza City for weeks, edging closer to the centre of the city where an estimated 1 million Palestinians were sheltering last month.
“Gaza is burning,” Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a post on X early on Tuesday. “The IDF strikes with an iron fist at the terrorist infrastructure and IDF soldiers are fighting bravely to create the conditions for the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas.”
It was not immediately clear if Katz was commenting on the reported ground operation.
Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking about 251 hostages, Israeli tallies show. Israeli authorities say 20 of the remaining 48 hostages in Gaza are alive.
Israel’s subsequent military assault against Hamas has killed over 64,000 Palestinians, Gaza’s health ministry said, while a global hunger monitor said part of the enclave is suffering from famine. Israel already controls about 75% of Gaza.
Last week, Israel launched an airstrike against Hamas leaders in Qatar, expanding its military actions that have ranged across the Middle East.
(Reporting by Christian Martinez, Alexander Cornwell, Enas Alashray and Yomna Ehab; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
