CAIRO/JERUSALEM. Israel announced on Wednesday that it had opened an additional route for 48 hours to allow civilians to leave Gaza City, as its military intensified efforts to clear the area of non-combatants and confront entrenched Hamas fighters.
Hundreds of thousands remain in Gaza City, with many reluctant to evacuate due to the dangers of traveling south, scarce food supplies, harsh conditions, and fears of permanent displacement. “Even if we want to leave Gaza City, is there any guarantee we would be able to come back? Will the war ever end? That’s why I prefer to die here, in Sabra, my neighbourhood,” said Ahmed, a schoolteacher.
According to Gaza health authorities, at least 63 people were killed by Israeli strikes and gunfire across the territory on Wednesday, most of them in Gaza City. They said the latest fatalities brought the death toll from the two-year war past 65,000, with many more likely buried under rubble. Among the dead were 13 civilians, including local journalist Mohammad Alaa Al-Sawalhi, who medics said were attempting to comply with Israel’s evacuation orders.
In Rafah, five people were killed and dozens were injured when Israeli troops fired near an aid site. The Israeli military said its forces had fired warning shots to address an “immediate threat.”
The conflict began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led gunmen killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages in southern Israel, according to Israeli figures. Israel estimates that around 400,000 people 40% of Gaza City’s population as of August 10, when it announced plans to seize control, have already fled. Gaza’s media office, however, claims that 190,000 have moved south and 350,000 have shifted to the central and western parts of the city.
A day after Israel launched its ground offensive, tanks advanced short distances toward Gaza City’s central and western districts from three directions, but no major breakthrough was reported. An Israeli official said the focus remained on persuading civilians to leave and warned that fighting would intensify over the coming months. The official added that the operation could be suspended if a ceasefire were reached. However, prospects remain dim after Israel targeted Hamas political leaders in Doha last week, straining relations with Qatar, a mediator in talks.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to strike Hamas leaders anywhere, despite widespread criticism of the Doha attack, including from the United States.
On Wednesday, Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported that an Israeli drone dropped grenades on one floor of the Rantissi children’s hospital, forcing families to evacuate. No casualties were reported, but Fikr Shalltoot, Gaza director of the UK-based charity Medical Aid for Palestinians, said: “This hospital is the only specialist facility for children with cancer, kidney failure and other life-threatening conditions – but even these gravely ill children are not spared from relentless bombardment.” Israel did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Leaflets dropped over Gaza City instructed civilians to use Salahudin Road, reopened for evacuation, and warned they had until Friday noon to leave. However, conditions remained perilous, with families fleeing on foot, donkey carts, or vehicles amid ongoing strikes.
Much of Gaza City was devastated in 2023, but around one million Palestinians later returned to live among the ruins. Forcing residents out now risks confining much of the enclave’s population to overcrowded shelters in the south, where a hunger crisis is worsening.
The United Nations, aid agencies, and foreign governments have condemned Israel’s campaign and the mass displacement. A U.N. Commission of Inquiry said Tuesday that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, a conclusion Israel rejected as “scandalous” and “fake.”
Israeli forces currently control Gaza City’s eastern suburbs and are pressing from multiple fronts toward the center and western districts. “Gaza is being wiped out. A city that is thousands of years old is being wiped out in front of the whole cowardly world,” said Ahmed, the teacher.
In Nuseirat refugee camp, an Israeli airstrike destroyed a high-rise building on Wednesday, forcing nearby residents to flee. Palestinian and U.N. officials said no area of Gaza is safe, including the southern zones Israel has designated as humanitarian. On Tuesday, an airstrike killed five people in a vehicle as they attempted to evacuate south.
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
- Venus L Peñaflor
- Venus L Peñaflor
- Venus L Peñaflor
- Venus L Peñaflor
