Israel’s military intensified its assault on Gaza City on Wednesday ahead of a planned incursion, resulting in an additional 123 casualties in the past day, as reported by Gaza’s Health Ministry. This surge in fatalities marked the highest death toll in a week, adding to the significant loss of life during the nearly two-year conflict that has devastated the territory, housing over two million Palestinians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated a proposal, also supported by U.S. President Donald Trump, suggesting that Palestinians should voluntarily leave Gaza. Netanyahu emphasized that Palestinians would not be forcibly removed but rather allowed to depart. He stated in an interview with Israeli television channel i24NEWS, “Those expressing concern for the Palestinians and offering assistance should open their borders instead of lecturing us.”
The notion of displacing the population of Gaza has sparked outrage among Arabs and numerous global leaders, with Palestinians likening it to another “Nakba,” or catastrophe, akin to the mass exodus and expulsions during the 1948 conflict.
Israel’s anticipated reoccupation of Gaza City, previously captured early in the conflict before a withdrawal, is expected to occur in the coming weeks, according to officials. Despite the possibility of a ceasefire, negotiations remain stalled, and hostilities persist.
Residents reported heavy bombardment by Israeli planes and tanks in eastern areas of Gaza City, resulting in widespread destruction of homes in the Zeitoun and Shejaia neighborhoods. Airstrikes on a residence in Zeitoun claimed 12 lives, as confirmed by Al-Ahli hospital. Additionally, tanks demolished several houses in the southern Khan Younis area, with Israeli gunfire causing the deaths of nine individuals seeking aid in separate incidents in the city center, as reported by Palestinian medics.
Farah Al-Jourani, 23, mourned the loss of her husband, Yousef Al-Najjar, one of the victims killed while seeking aid. Expressing her grief outside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, she lamented, “My beloved, please don’t leave me. We must raise our son together… Yousef, please wake up.” Al-Jourani, devastated by the loss, remarked, “I regret asking him to go… It’s just me, him, and our two-month-old son,” in an interview with CBC News.
Meanwhile, eight more individuals, including three children, succumbed to starvation and malnutrition in Gaza within the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths due to hunger to 235, including 106 children, since the conflict’s onset.
Hamas negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya engaged in discussions with Egyptian officials in Cairo to address halting the conflict, delivering aid, and alleviating the plight of Gaza’s residents, as stated by Hamas official Taher al-Nono. The talks also aimed to explore the prospect of a comprehensive ceasefire requiring Hamas to relinquish governance in Gaza and disarm.
Netanyahu’s proposed expansion of military control over Gaza, expected to commence in October as per Israeli sources, has drawn international condemnation over the widespread devastation, displacement, and hunger in the region.
Efforts to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza have intensified, with calls from foreign ministers of 24 nations, including Canada, Britain, Australia, France, and Japan, urging Israel to permit unrestricted aid access. While Israel refutes culpability for hunger, alleging Hamas’ misappropriation of aid, it asserts steps taken to enhance deliveries, such as daily ceasefires in select areas and secured pathways for aid convoys.
Amid mounting concerns, discussions point towards a potential transition of governance in postwar Gaza to the Palestinian Authority, which currently oversees limited administration in the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian Authority’s readiness to assume full responsibility in Gaza, excluding Hamas involvement and necessitating arms surrender, underscores the push for international peacekeeping and Israeli withdrawal.
Hamas has expressed willingness to cede control to a non-partisan technocratic entity agreed upon by all Palestinian factions, while Israel remains skeptical of the Palestinian Authority’s capacity to govern Gaza effectively.