Israel begins ground offensive in Gaza City as UN probe accuses it of ‘genocide’
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JERUSALEM – Israel unleashed a ground incursion into Gaza City on Sept 16 after visiting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio backed its goal of eradicating Hamas and warned that only days may be left for a diplomatic solution.
A United Nations probe, meanwhile, charged Israel with committing “genocide” in Gaza
The assault drew widespread condemnation, with the UN’s rights chief demanding an end to the “carnage”.
During the night, the Israeli military unleashed a massive bombardment of Gaza City as it moved deeper into the territory’s largest urban hub.
“Last night, we transitioned into the next phase, the main phase of the plan for Gaza City... IDF (military) southern command forces have expanded ground activity into Hamas’ main stronghold in Gaza, which is Gaza City,” an Israeli military official told journalists. “We are moving towards the centre” of Gaza City.
The military estimated that there were 2,000 to 3,000 Hamas militants operating in the area, he added.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said early on Sept 16 that Gaza City, the territory’s main urban hub, was “on fire”.
“The IDF is striking terrorist infrastructure with an iron fist, and IDF soldiers are fighting bravely to create the necessary conditions for the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas,” he said.
“We will not relent and we will not back down until the mission is accomplished,” Mr Katz said.
Commenting on Israel’s massive incursion into Gaza City, US President Donald Trump pointed at Hamas and warned the group it would be in “big trouble” if it uses hostages as human shields.
“We’ll wait to hear what happens because I hear Hamas is trying to use the old human shield deal, and if they do that they’re going to be in big trouble,” he told reporters.
Witnesses told AFP of relentless bombing in Gaza City, much of which is already in ruins after nearly two years of Israeli strikes since the Hamas attacks of October 2023 that triggered the war.
Only huge piles of rubble remained of a residential block in the north of the city hit by overnight bombing.
“Why kill children sleeping safely like that, turning them into body parts?“ said Mr Abu Abd Zaquout. “We pulled the children out in pieces.”
Resident Ahmed Ghazal, 25, said: “We can hear their screams.”
Despite the mounting criticism, Mr Rubio offered robust backing
Mr Rubio told reporters as he left Israel: “We think we have a very short window of time in which a deal can happen. We don’t have months anymore, and we probably have days and maybe a few weeks to go.”
He said a diplomatic solution in which Hamas demilitarises remained the US preference, although he added: “Sometimes when you’re dealing with a group of savages like Hamas, that’s not possible, but we hope it can happen.”
Mr Rubio, who met in Jerusalem the families of the hostages, acknowledged that Hamas has leverage by holding them.
“If there were no hostages and no civilians in the way, this war would have ended a year and a half ago,” he said at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport.
A group representing hostages’ families said they were “terrified” for their loved ones after Mr Netanyahu ordered the strikes.
“He is doing everything to ensure there is no deal and not to bring them back,” they said in a statement.
Flares fired by the Israeli army lighting up the sky above the outskirts of Gaza City on Sept 15.
PHOTO: EPA
‘Genocide’
The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI), which does not speak for the world body and has faced harsh Israeli criticism, found that “genocide is occurring in Gaza and is continuing to occur”, commission chief Navi Pillay said.
“The responsibility lies with the state of Israel.”
The investigators said explicit statements by the Israeli civilian and military authorities along with the pattern of Israeli forces’ conduct “indicated that the genocidal acts were committed with intent to destroy... Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as a group”.
The report concluded that Mr Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and former defence minister Yoav Gallant have “incited the commission of genocide”.
Israel said it “categorically rejects this distorted and false report” and called for the “immediate abolition” of the COI.
UN rights chief Volker Turk told AFP and Reuters that: “It’s for the court to decide whether it’s genocide or not, and we see the evidence mounting.”
The European Union said the ground assault on Gaza City would worsen an already “catastrophic” humanitarian situation, while Britain said it would bring only “more bloodshed, kill more innocent civilians and endanger the remaining hostages”.
Before flying to Qatar, Mr Rubio said he hoped Doha would keep up its Gaza mediation efforts, despite Israel carrying out air strikes against Hamas leaders gathered in the Gulf emirate last week to consider a US truce proposal.
“We want them to know that if there’s any country in the world that could help end this through a negotiation, it’s Qatar,” he said.
Mr Mahmud Bassal, a spokesman for the Gaza civil defence agency, said heavy bombing was ongoing in Gaza City, adding that the military also targeted the southern city of Khan Younis.
The agency said at least 17 people had been killed on Sept 16, noting that “the number of deaths and injuries continues to rise”.
Ahead of statehood push
Mr Rubio’s visit came a week before France will lead a United Nations summit in which a number of Western governments, angered by what they see as Israeli intransigence, plan to recognise a Palestinian state.
Mr Rubio called statehood recognition “largely symbolic”, while Mr Netanyahu – whose government is fervently opposed to such a move – said Israel may take unspecified “unilateral steps” in response.
The October 2023 attack by Hamas
Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed at least 64,905 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the territory’s Health Ministry that the United Nations considers reliable. AFP
