More than 400,000 people have fled Gaza City as Israel pushes ahead with a ground invasion of the battered enclave. But hundreds of thousands still remain, fearful of moving south despite a severe lack of food and a barrage of airstrikes.
Strikes have leveled high-rise buildings across the city and killed dozens in recent days as the Israeli military prepared to move in on the ground. Sixteen people were killed by strikes overnight, according to hospital officials, which also hit Gaza City’s al-Rantisi children’s hospital.
Israel’s military launched its latest offensive against what it described as the “main stronghold of Hamas,” despite fierce criticism from the international community.
The ground operation began on Tuesday, the day after the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry determined that Israel has committed a genocide in Gaza. Israel denounced the report, claiming it “relies entirely on Hamas falsehoods.”
The Israeli military has ordered civilians to move south to a “humanitarian zone.” A coast road that leads south is reportedly packed as families flee by car or on foot. Still, hundreds of thousands of civilians remain in the city, deterred by fears of overcrowding in southern Gaza, dire conditions, high transportation costs, poor health, and the risk of permanent displacement.
Another temporary evacuation route via Salah al-Din has been opened, according to a statement by an IDF spokesperson posted on Telegram. The route will only be open for 48 hours starting at noon local time on Wednesday.
EU unveils new sanctions and tariffs on Israel
Amid mounting international condemnation of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, the European Commission on Wednesday unveiled its toughest measures yet to pressure Israel to end the war.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas laid out plans for tariffs on select Israeli goods and sanctions on settlers, two ministers in Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Cabinet — national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich — as well as 10 Hamas leaders.
“We are proposing these measures not to punish Israel or Israeli people, but to really try to pressure (the) Israeli government to change course and to end the human suffering in Gaza,” Kallas said at a press conference in Brussels. “The war needs to end, the suffering must stop, and all hostages must be released.”
The sanctions would freeze individuals’ European assets and bar travel within the EU. As Israel’s largest trading partner, the bloc’s actions could hit its economy hard, already strained by months of conflict.
Pope Leo calls for Gaza ceasefire
Pope Leo XIV meanwhile issued an urgent plea for a ceasefire, expressing “profound” solidarity with Palestinians and demanding Israel respect international humanitarian law.
“Before the Almighty Lord who commanded ‘Thou shalt not kill’ and before all of human history, every person always has an inviolable dignity that must be respected and protected,” he said.
Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 65,000 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, and displaced around 90% of the population. A UN review committee in August found that a famine was happening in Gaza.
Read more: World Leaders React as U.N.-Backed Report Confirms Famine in Gaza