On Wednesday, Israel’s military announced the establishment of a temporary route to facilitate the evacuation of individuals from Gaza City, following the initiation of a significant ground offensive intended to dismantle Hamas.
The Israeli military conducted a substantial bombardment of Gaza City before daybreak on Tuesday and advanced its troops further into the Gaza Strip’s principal metropolitan center.
A United Nations investigation has accused Israel of perpetrating “genocide” on Palestinian land, asserting that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other high-ranking officials incited this crime.
On Wednesday, the Israeli military announced the establishment of “a temporary transportation route along Salah al-Din Street.”
The Arabic-language spokesperson, Colonel Avichay Adraee, stated that the corridor would remain accessible for only 48 hours starting from midday (0900 GMT) on Thursday.
To date, the military has encouraged inhabitants to evacuate Gaza City along the coastline route towards what it designates as a “humanitarian zone” located further south, encompassing areas of Al-Mawasi.
Salah al-Din Street traverses the Gaza Strip longitudinally from north to south.
– ‘We extracted the youngsters in fragments’ –
The United Nations estimated at the conclusion of August that approximately one million individuals resided in Gaza City and its vicinity.
AFP correspondents have noted a new surge in displacement, with the Israeli army reporting on Wednesday that “over 350,000” individuals have evacuated southward thus far.
Numerous Palestinians interviewed by AFP in Gaza assert that there is no secure location within the enclave and express a preference to perish in their residences rather than face further displacement.
On Tuesday, reports emerged of incessant bombardment in Gaza City, which is devastated mainly following nearly two years of Israeli assaults.
A substantial accumulation of debris was all that remained of a residential block in the northern part of the city, struck by Israel’s shelling.
“Why murder children who are peacefully sleeping, reducing them to mere body parts?” inquired Abu Abd Zaquout. “We extracted the children in fragments.”
On Tuesday, the Israeli army announced the initiation of a significant ground operation in Gaza City to expel Hamas from one of its remaining strongholds in the conflict-affected region.
The conflict was initiated by Hamas’s assault on southern Israel in October 2023, leading to the fatalities of 1,219 individuals, predominantly civilians, as per an AFP compilation of official statistics.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has resulted in the deaths of at least 64,964 individuals, predominantly civilians, according to statistics from the territory’s health ministry, which the United Nations deems credible.
The Israeli military estimates that there are between 2,000 and 3,000 Hamas combatants in downtown Gaza City, with approximately 40 percent of the population having evacuated.
– UN inspectors assert that Israel is perpetrating genocide –
Hamas characterized the attack as “systematic ethnic cleansing aimed at our population in Gaza.”
The civil defense in Gaza, a rescue organization under Hamas jurisdiction, reported that at least 44 individuals were killed by Israeli gunfire on Tuesday.
Media restrictions in the region and challenges in accessing certain areas prevent AFP from independently verifying the information provided by the civil defense or the Israeli military.
On Tuesday, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI), which does not represent the United Nations, determined that “genocide is occurring in Gaza and continues to occur,” stated commission chief Navi Pillay to AFP.
Israel stated it “categorically rejects this distorted and false report” and demanded the “immediate abolition” of the COI.
On Wednesday, Qatar became the most recent nation to implore Israel to cease its offensive on Gaza City, characterizing it as “an extension of its genocidal war against the Palestinian people.”
France made a comparable request late Tuesday, stating that the “destructive campaign… no longer possesses any military rationale” and urging the recommencement of ceasefire negotiations.
On September 9, Israel executed attacks targeting Hamas leaders in Doha, resulting in the deaths of five members of the Palestinian organization and a Qatari security officer.
On Tuesday, during a visit to Doha, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio conferred with Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to request the Gulf nation to continue its role as a mediator in the Gaza negotiations.
