As the Israel-Hamas war entered its second month on Tuesday, the Israeli military said that its ground forces are now fighting in “the depths” of Gaza City. The comments signalled a new stage by the Israeli military as it moves in toward what it says is the headquarters and stronghold of the Hamas militant group. Meanwhile, Hamas has denied that Israeli troops had made any significant gains or entered Gaza City.
Speaking to reporters, the chief military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said that Israeli ground forces “are located right now in a ground operation in the depths of Gaza City and putting great pressure on Hamas”. Earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Israel was making great progress in its war, saying that the army has killed thousands of Hamas fighters.
However, United States President Joe Biden does not support an Israeli military “reoccupation” of the Gaza Strip after the Israel-Hamas war ends, a White House spokesman told Al Jazeera. Biden believes “a reoccupation by Israeli forces of Gaza is not the right thing to do”, the White House national security spokesperson, John Kirby, told reporters on Tuesday.
The war has killed over 10,000 people in Gaza and triggered an increasingly dire humanitarian situation inside the besieged Palestinian enclave, with no end in sight as Israel vowed to end Hamas' rule and crush its military capabilities. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said that the country will maintain some form of control over the coastal enclave indefinitely.
According to a report by Reuters, Israel gave residents of Gaza City a window from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to leave for the southern part of the 45-km-long (28-mile-long) Gaza Strip. However, as per Gaza's interior ministry, around 900,000 Palestinians were still sheltering in northern Gaza including Gaza City.
For those in Gaza, who have been cut off from food, water and fuel for the last one month, the Israeli military’s further advancement into the city is expected to cause more deaths.
