Jerusalem: Israeli troops and tanks pushed deeper into Gaza, advancing on two sides of the territory’s main city, as the UN and medical staff warned that air strikes have hit closer to hospitals where tens of thousands of Palestinians have sought shelter alongside thousands of wounded. Video circulating on social media showed an Israeli tank and bulldozer in central Gaza blocking the territory’s main highway, which the Israeli military in recent weeks has suggested Palestinians use to evacuate to south. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who remain in the north would no longer be able to escape if the road is blocked.
The Israeli military has been vague about its operations inside Gaza, including the location and number of troops. But the movements of recent days, including stepped-up ground operations both north and east of Gaza City, combined with calls for residents to head south, point to a focus on the city. Israel says much of Hamas’ forces and militant infrastructure, including hundreds of kilometers of tunnels, are in Gaza City, which before the war was home to over 650,000 people, a population comparable to that of Washington, DC. Casualties on both sides are expected to rise sharply if Israeli forces expand their ground operation and end up battling Palestinian militants in dense residential areas.
Though Israel ordered Palestinians to flee the north, where Gaza City is located, and move south, hundreds of thousands remain, in part because Israel has also bombarded targets in so-called safe zones. Around 117,000 displaced people hoping to stay safe from strikes are staying in hospitals in northern Gaza, alongside thousands of patients and staff, according to UN figures. The death toll among Palestinians passed 8,300, mostly women and children, the Gaza health ministry said. More than 1.4 million people in Gaza have fled their homes. Over 1,400 people have died on the Israeli side, mainly civilians killed during Hamas' initial attack, also an unprecedented figure.