Palestinians Flee Gaza City In 1st Stage Of Assault By Israel

Palestinians are fleeing parts of Gaza City after the Israeli military began the first stages of a planned ground offensive, officials in the city say.

Israel’s troops have established a foothold on the outskirts of the city – which is home to more than a million Palestinians – after days of intense bombing and artillery fire.

It has prompted UN Secretary General António Guterres to renew calls for an immediate ceasefire “to avoid the death and destruction” an assault would “inevitably cause”.

Israel wants to signal that it is pressing ahead with its plan to capture all of Gaza City despite international criticism.

Hundreds of Palestinians in the Zeitoun and Sabra neighbourhoods of Gaza City have left towards the north-western part of the city.

Gaza City residents described relentless bombardments overnight into Thursday.

“The house shakes with us all night long — the sound of explosions, artillery, warplanes, ambulances, and cries for help is killing us,” Ahmad al-Shanti told news agency AFP.

“The sound is getting closer, but where would we go?”

Amal Abdel-Aal was displaced from her home in Sabra a week ago and said she watched strikes hit the area.

“No one in Gaza has slept, not last night, not for a week. The artillery and air strikes in the east never stop. The sky flashes all night long,” she said.

An Israeli military spokesman said on Wednesday that troops were already operating in the Zeitoun and Jabalia areas to lay the groundwork for the offensive, which Defence Minister Israel Katz approved on Tuesday and which will be put to the security cabinet later this week.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is “shortening the timelines” for seizing what he described as “the last terror strongholds” in Gaza.

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