Israel launches ground operation for control of Gaza City, over 300,000 flee the region

Israel on Tuesday announced the full-scale ground invasion to occupy Gaza City.

The Israeli media reported Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as saying that Israel had “launched a powerful operation in Gaza City”. He dubbed it as a “decisive” turning point in the war in the Gaza Strip. Separately, the Israeli military said in Arabic that it had “begun destroying Hamas infrastructure in Gaza City”.

The Israeli military has told around 1 million Palestinians sheltering in Gaz City to leave. It has said that around 350,000 of them have already left, with 250,000 of them leaving in recent days since Israel ramped up bombardment of the city.

The Israeli ground offensive has come after weeks of Israeli intense bombardment of Gaza City and surrounding areas. While Netanyahu and his allies have said the offensive is a must to defeat Hamas and achieve the goals of the war, families of hostages have said it puts their relatives in harms away. Independent observers have pointed out that the offensive is bound to worsen the humanitarian crisis in the region.

Gaza is in the grip of a severe hunger crisis and food, water, and other essentials are in acute shortage. A United Nations (UN)-backed group has declared a famine in Gaza City.

What do we know about Israeli offensive?

Even though the announcement came on Tuesday, Israel began the ground invasion on Monday evening, according to The Jerusalem Post.

Israel’s 162nd and 98th Divisions entered Gaza City starting around 10 pm on Monday and occupied large portions of the heart of the city, the report said.

Sources in the military said that offensive is scheduled to last approximately a few months although the duration is unpredictable.

The report said that the Israeli military does not have a clear picture about what to accept in terms of Hamas’ military capabilities.

As of now, sources have said that the military expects Hamas to have 2,000-2,500 ready combat personnel, but on the other hand, Hamas is said to have tens of thousands of additional potential forces to call on comprising younger and much less well-trained personnel, the report said.