Israel claims control of 40% of Gaza City as offensive escalates

Israel announced it has seized control of almost half of Gaza City and vowed to intensify its offensive, according to Radio France Internationale (RFI) via Reuters on September 5th.

Gaza’s civil defence reported that Israeli bombings and gunfire killed more than 60 people within a 24 hour period.

The Israeli army spokesperson said that 40% of Gaza City is now under Israeli military control, RFI’s Jerusalem correspondent Michel Paul noted. During a televised briefing, General Effie Defrin declared that the offensive would continue to expand.

Several areas of the city and its outskirts have been designated as “red zones,” with residents urged to evacuate before fighting begins. Israel estimates that around 70,000 of Gaza City’s one million inhabitants have already fled. However, Haaretz reported on September 4th that Israeli military officials believe up to 200,000 residents may refuse to leave.

On the ground, Reuters reported on September 3rd that Israeli tanks have advanced particularly in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, a few kilometers from the city center, destroying homes and igniting fires in tent encampments. Airstrikes have further forced residents to flee, even before the main assault has begun.

Overall, the Israeli army now claims control of about 75% of the Gaza Strip, a 365-square-kilometer territory where nearly two million residents remain under siege, many of them repeatedly displaced. The United Nations has declared that famine is ongoing, although Israel denies this.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has stated its goal of securing the territory south of Israel’s border and eliminating Hamas, which has been in power since 2007. The offensive continues despite mounting international and domestic pressure on Israel to agree to a ceasefire and the ongoing pressure on Hamas to release the hostages taken during the October 7th, 2023, attack.

That attack killed 1,219 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data. Of the 251 people abducted that day, 47 remain in Gaza, and 25 of them have been confirmed dead, the Israeli army has said. The subsequent Israeli counter-offensive has killed at least 64,231 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, figures that the United Nations considers trustworthy.

Radio France Internationale, Haaretz, Reuters, AFP, Maghrebi.org