Israel’s Defence Minister said "Gaza is burning" after heavy strikes overnight targeted Gaza City, killing 69 according to the city’s hospitals.
The intensifying bombardment came as Israel prepares to launch a full-scale ground invasion of the Gaza Strip’s biggest city, in an operation called ‘Gideon’s Chariots II’.
On Tuesday morning, the Israeli military announced its expanded operation in Gaza City, "to destroy Hamas’ military infrastructure," had begun and warned residents to move south.
The military has not given a timeline for the offensive, but Israeli media suggested it could take months.
Israel has been warning the famine-stricken Gaza City residents to evacuate for the past month ahead of the operation, but many have said they are unable to evacuate due to overcrowding in Gaza’s south and the high price of transport.
An estimated 1 million Palestinians were living in the region around Gaza City before the evacuation warnings. The Israeli military estimates that 350,000 Palestinians left the city before the ground offensive began.
Long lines of traffic stretched down Gaza’s coastal road Tuesday as the offensive began, with vehicles loaded down with mattresses and people’s belongings and others fleeing on foot.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Defence Minister said the IDF was "striking with an iron fist" in Gaza early on Tuesday.
"Gaza is burning," Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a post on social media platform X.
"The IDF is striking with an iron fist at the terror infrastructure, and IDF soldiers are fighting valiantly to create the conditions for the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas
"We will not relent and we will not back down – until the mission is completed."
An official at Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital said it received the bodies of 49 people, including 22 children, as well as dozens of people with injuries.
"A very tough night in Gaza," Dr Mohamed Abu Selmiyah, director of Shifa Hospital, told The Associated Press.
"The bombing did not stop for a single moment," he said. "There are still bodies under the rubble."
Al-Ahli Hospital received 17 bodies, and Al-Quds Hospital said it received three.
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