Israel pounds Gaza City suburbs, Netanyahu to convene security Cabinet

CAIRO/JERUSALEM - Israeli forces pounded the suburbs of Gaza City overnight from the air and ground, destroying homes and driving more families out of the area as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security Cabinet was set on Aug 31 to discuss a plan to seize the city.

Residents of Sheikh Radwan, one of the largest neighbourhoods of Gaza City, said the territory had been under Israeli tank shelling and airstrikes throughout Aug 30 and on Aug 31, forcing families to seek shelter in the western parts of the city.

The Israeli military has gradually escalated its operations around Gaza City over the past three weeks, and on Aug 29 it ended temporary pauses in the area that had allowed for aid deliveries, designating it a “dangerous combat zone”.

“They are crawling into the heart of the city where hundreds of thousands are sheltering, from the east, north, and south, while bombing those areas from the air and ground to scare people to leave,” said Mr Rezik Salah, a father of two, from Sheikh Radwan.

The local health authorities said Israeli gunfire and strikes killed at least 30 people on Aug 31, including 13 who tried to get food from near an aid site in central Gaza. The Israeli military said it was not aware of casualties near humanitarian aid distribution points in central Gaza.

An Israeli official said Mr Netanyahu’s security Cabinet will convene in the evening of Aug 31 to discuss the next stages of the planned offensive to seize Gaza City, which he has described as Hamas’ last bastion.

A full-scale offensive is not expected to start for weeks. Israel says it wants to evacuate the civilian population before moving more ground forces in.

Hamas spokesperson targeted

Mr Netanyahu confirmed on Aug 31 that Israeli forces had targeted Abu Ubaida, the spokesperson of Hamas’ armed wing. Defence Minister Israel Katz said that Abu Ubaida was killed. Two Hamas officials contacted by Reuters did not respond to requests for comment.

Gaza health authorities said 15 people, including five children, were killed in the attack on a residential building in the heart of Gaza City.

Abu Ubaida, also known as Hozayfa Al-Khalout, is a well-known figure to Palestinians and Israelis alike, close to Hamas’ top military leaders and in charge of delivering the group’s messages, often via video, for around two decades, delivering statements while wearing a red keffiyeh that concealed his face.

The US targeted him with sanctions in April 2024, accusing him of leading the “cyber influence department” of al-Qassam Brigades.

In his last statement on Aug 29, he warned that the planned Israeli offensive on Gaza City would endanger the hostages.

On Aug 30, Red Cross head Mirjana Spoljaric said an evacuation from the city would provoke a massive population displacement that no other area in the enclave is equipped to absorb, with shortages of food, shelter and medical supplies.

“People who have relatives in the south left to stay with them. Others, including myself, didn’t find a space as Deir Al-Balah and Mawasi are overcrowded,” said Ms Ghada, a mother of five from the city’s Sabra neighborhood.

Around half of the enclave’s more than 2 million people are presently in Gaza City. Several thousand were estimated to have left the city for central and southern areas of the enclave.

Israel’s military has warned its political leaders that the offensive is endangering hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza. Protests in Israel calling for an end to the war and the release of the hostages have intensified in the past few weeks.

The war began with a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed, mostly civilians, and 251 taken hostage. Twenty of the remaining 48 hostages are believed to still be alive.

Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 63,000 people, mostly civilians, according to Gaza health officials, and it has plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis and left much of it in ruins. REUTERS