Israel’s military says its expanded operation in Gaza City has begun and warns residents to leave

JERUSALEM AP The Israeli military began a ground offensive targeting Gaza City on Tuesday slowly squeezing in on the Palestinian territory s largest city that has seen block after block already destroyed in the Israel-Hamas war Residents still in the city were warned they must leave and head south The push marks yet another escalation in a conflict that has roiled the Middle East as any promising ceasefire feels even further out of reach despite months of diplomacy While the military wouldn t offer a timeline for the offensive Israeli media outlets suggested it could take months Earlier in the day Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared that Gaza is burning while independent experts commissioned by the United Nations Human Rights Council disclosed that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza joining a rising international chorus of such accusations Israel fiercely rejected the claim calling the experts record distorted and false Meanwhile U S Secretary of State Marco Rubio left Israel and then made a brief stop in the energy-rich nation of Qatar where he met with its ruling emir whose country is still incensed over Israel s strike last week that killed five Hamas members and a local guard official Arab and Muslim nations denounced the strike at a summit Monday but stopped short of any major action targeting Israel highlighting the challenge of diplomatically pressuring any change in Israel s conduct Egypt however escalated its language against Israel referring to it as the enemy for the first time in years Qatar and Egypt have been key negotiators in the war We have a very short window of time in which a deal can happen Rubio stated It s a key moment an significant moment Rubio stated a negotiated settlement still remains the best option while acknowledging the dangers an intensified military campaign posed to Gaza The only thing worse than a war is a protracted one that goes on forever and ever Rubio commented At chosen point this has to end At particular point Hamas has to be defanged and we hope it can happen through a negotiation But I think time unfortunately is running out Intensity of strikes in Gaza City grows Katz had signaled earlier in the day the operation in Gaza City had begun Gaza is burning he noted We will not relent and we will not go back until the completion of the mission An Israeli military official speaking on condition of anonymity in line with military guidelines announced that the main phase of the Gaza City operation had begun with troops moving in from the city s outskirts toward its center Airstrikes have pounded Gaza City for specific time in the leadup to the operation knocking down towers in the city The official revealed the Israeli military believes there are approximately to Hamas militants left in Gaza City as well as tunnels used by the militant group The military estimates people have left Gaza City saying it was about one-third of the city s population before the new ground offensive started That contradicted a U N estimate issued Monday that over Palestinians have fled northern Gaza over the past month after the Israeli military warned that all residents should leave Gaza City ahead of the operation An estimated million Palestinians were living in the region around Gaza City before the evacuation warnings 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 By the end of the current operation an Israeli military graphic suggested its troops hope to control all of the Gaza Strip except for a large swath along the coast At least Palestinians killed in Gaza City Palestinian residents published heavy strikes across Gaza City on Tuesday morning By noon the city s Shifa Hospital had received the bodies of people killed in the strikes stated Dr Rami Mhanna a hospital official Dozens of wounded had also come into the facility he mentioned A very tough night in Gaza Dr Mohamed Abu Selmiyah the hospital s director notified The Associated Press The bombing did not stop for a single moment The Israeli military did not respond to immediate requests for comment on the strikes but in the past has accused Hamas of building military infrastructure inside civilian areas especially in Gaza City Families of hostages beg Netanyahu to halt the operation Overnight families of the hostages still being held in Gaza gathered outside of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu s residence pleading with him to stop the Gaza City operation Particular pitched tents and slept outside his home in protest I have one interest for this country to wake up and bring back my child along with other hostages both living and deceased and to bring our soldiers home Einav Zangauker whose son Matan is being held in Gaza shouted outside Netanyahu s residence If he stops at nothing and sends our precious brave heroic soldiers to fight while our hostages are being used as human shields he is not a worthy prime minister Zangauker Israel believes around of the hostages still held by the militants in Gaza including Matan are alive Hamas has reported it will only free remaining hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct killing around people mostly civilians and abducting Greater part of the hostages have since been disclosed in ceasefires brokered in part by Qatar or other deals Israel s retaliatory offensive has killed at least Palestinians according to Gaza s Medical Ministry which doesn t say how several were civilians or combatants The ministry which is part of the Hamas-run regime and staffed by medicinal professionals says women and children make up around half the dead Egypt escalates its rhetoric against Israel Egypt which has had a peace deal with Israel for decades and has served as a mediator in the war in Gaza appears to be losing its patience with Israel Egypt s president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi described Israel as an enemy in a fiery speech at the Qatar summit Monday It was the first time an Egyptian leader used the term since the two countries established diplomatic ties in stated Diaa Rashwan head of Egyptian administration s State Information Amenity Egypt was the first Arab country to establish ties with Israel and their peace treaty is seen as a cornerstone for stability in the volatile region Egypt is being threatened Rashwan explained the state-run Extra News television late Monday El-Sissi s enemy comment played prominently across Egyptian newspapers front pages on Tuesday and while Cairo has taken no efforts to change its status with Israel the Egyptian authorities likely is trying to signal just how seriously it takes Israel s newest actions