GAZA CITY: Israeli forces intensified operations around Gaza City on Wednesday amid growing international pressure to end the nearly two-year military campaign.
President Donald Trump prepared to host a White House meeting to discuss post-war plans for the devastated Palestinian territory.
The United Nations has declared a famine in Gaza governorate while mediators circulate a ceasefire draft accepted by Hamas but awaiting Israel’s official response.
Israeli troops are “operating on the outskirts of Gaza City to locate and dismantle terror infrastructure sites above and below ground”.
Army spokesman Avichay Adraee stated that the evacuation of Gaza’s largest city was “inevitable”.
Aid groups consider the evacuation plan unrealistic and dangerous for a population already displaced multiple times during the conflict.
The UN estimates nearly one million people currently live in Gaza governorate, which includes Gaza City and its northern surroundings.
Residents of Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood reported heavy Israeli bombardment throughout the night.
“Warplanes struck several times, and drones fired throughout the night,“ said Tala al-Khatib, 29.
“Several homes in Zeitoun were blown up. We are still in our house — some neighbours have fled, while others remain. But wherever you flee, death follows you.”
Abdel Hamid al-Sayfi, 62, described the dangerous conditions preventing movement outdoors.
“Whoever steps outside is fired upon by the drones,“ he told AFP by telephone.
“My phone battery is about to die, and once it does, we will lose all contact. Our fate is unknown.”
Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed on Friday to destroy the city if Hamas does not accept Israel’s terms for ending the war.
The defence ministry approved the military’s plan to seize Gaza City and authorised calling up approximately 60,000 reservists.
This development followed the UN’s famine declaration in Gaza governorate, which it blamed on “systematic obstruction of aid” by Israel.
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff announced the comprehensive White House meeting without providing specific details.
“We’ve got a large meeting in the White House tomorrow, chaired by the president, and it’s a very comprehensive plan we’re putting together on the next day,“ Witkoff said on Fox News.
Trump previously suggested US control of Gaza Strip with redevelopment plans that drew international criticism.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the proposal despite outcry from European and Arab leaders.
Netanyahu addressed security cabinet deliberations while protesters demanded an end to the war in Tel Aviv.
“But I will say one thing: it started in Gaza and it will end in Gaza. We will not leave those monsters there,“ he said.
Netanyahu ordered immediate hostage release talks while advancing plans to seize Gaza City.
Hamas accepted the latest ceasefire proposal for staggered hostage releases over sixty days in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari confirmed mediators still await Israel’s response.
The conflict began with Hamas’s October 2023 attack that killed 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to AFP figures.
Forty-nine hostages remain in Gaza out of 251 originally seized, with twenty-seven confirmed dead by Israeli authorities.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 62,819 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to Hamas-run health ministry figures deemed reliable by the UN. – AFP
