Israel started main part of Gaza City ground operation, military official says

Israel will gradually increase the amount of troops in Gaza City; it is estimated that 40 per cent of residents have already moved south, the official added

Israel has started the main part of a ground operation to take control of Gaza City, an Israeli military official said on Tuesday.

This comes hours after top US diplomat Marco Rubio met with Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, telling him that Washington stood with Israel.

With the ground offensive in its “initial phases”, Israel will gradually increase the amount of troops in Gaza City, an Israeli military official said. It is estimated that 40 per cent of residents in Gaza City have already moved south, the official added.

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The official said Israel estimates thousands of Hamas members in Gaza City, and is prepared to operate “as long as we need to”. Ground forces are moving deeper in Gaza City towards its centre, and Israel aims to “conduct the operation as fast as possible but also in a safe way for us, hostages, civilians,” the official added.

The official also said Israel is “continuing to expand humanitarian operations in Gaza, especially southern Gaza”. Meanwhile, Israel rejected a report by UN which said “genocide” is being committed in Gaza.

Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel has launched a “significant” operation in Gaza, during his testimony in court.