Israeli forces move to central areas of Gaza City, IDF says

Israel has entered the “main phase” of its Gaza City offensive, an Israeli military official said on September 16, as troops pushed from the city’s outskirts toward its centre after weeks of bombardment.

“Last night we began deepening our operations deeper into Gaza City. It’s a gradual thing. It is not a black or white thing. But yesterday was a big step forward in deployment and also in operations on the ground,” a military spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Guardian, Caliber.Az reports.

Airstrikes have struck Gaza City for weeks ahead of the ground advance, flattening residential towers, according to the Associated Press. The Israeli military estimates that between 2,000 and 3,000 Hamas militants remain in the city, operating from a network of tunnels.

Hamas’ military capabilities have been “vastly diminished” after nearly two years of war, Israeli officials claim, saying the group now relies mainly on guerrilla-style attacks by small units planting explosives or targeting military outposts before dispersing.

UN officials told the Guardian that 142,387 people crossed from northern to southern Gaza between August 14 and September 14, about half of them in the final four days of that period.

Despite the mass displacement, Rosalie Bollen of UNICEF said more than 800,000 people remain in Gaza City, including 450,000 children.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian foreign ministry on September 16 demanded “urgent international intervention” after Israel installed “additional iron gates” at what it described as the “remaining entrances” to Palestinian towns, villages and refugee camps in the occupied West Bank.

The Gaza health ministry reported that 64,964 Palestinians have been killed and 165,312 injured in Israeli attacks since October 7, 2023.

By Sabina Mammadli