Bloody night in Gaza: 13 killed in dawn airstrikes as tanks storm the city

---

In a new wave of Israeli escalation in Gaza, the Civil Defense in the Palestinian enclave announced that 13 people were killed during airstrikes at dawn on Tuesday targeting Gaza City.

• Three scenarios closing in on Gaza after the war

• Israel launches the first stages of its offensive on Gaza City and rules out any humanitarian pause

Mahmoud Bassal, spokesperson for the Civil Defense, told Agence France-Presse that ten people were killed when an Israeli warplane struck a residential building in the city.

He added that Israeli helicopters bombed an apartment in western Gaza, killing three more people and injuring several others.

Israeli forces, preparing to launch a ground assault to seize control of Gaza City, have intensified their bombardment of the strip in recent days.

• Political Analyst: Israel’s Starvation Policy in Gaza Is a Full-Fledged War Crime

• Amid Famine and Siege, Emirati Convoy Offers a Lifeline to Gaza

Incursions and booby-trapped vehicles
According to Palestinian officials and eyewitnesses cited by Reuters, Israel pushed tanks into Gaza City and detonated booby-trapped vehicles in one of its neighborhoods. Residents confirmed that Israeli forces sent old armored vehicles into the eastern parts of the densely populated Sheikh Radwan district before detonating them remotely, destroying several homes and forcing more families to flee.

Reports of the assault came as the International Association of Genocide Scholars announced it had passed a resolution stating that Israel’s actions met the legal criteria for genocide in Gaza.

The Israeli military stated that its forces were continuing operations against Hamas throughout the strip, saying that on Sunday they struck several military buildings and frontline positions allegedly used to attack its soldiers.

• For the First Time in the Middle East: UN Officially Declares Famine in Gaza

• Netanyahu changes Gideon’s Chariots 2… and here is the evacuation schedule in Gaza

Ongoing escalation
Israel is moving forward with its plan to achieve full control over the Gaza Strip, starting with Gaza City, in what it describes as an effort to eliminate Hamas and rescue the 48 hostages still held nearly two years after the war began.

In leaflets dropped over Gaza City, the Israeli army urged residents to head south immediately, warning that it intended to expand its offensive westward.

Mohammed Abu Abdullah, a 55-year-old resident of Sheikh Radwan, told Reuters: “People are confused, they don’t know what to do. Should they stay in their homes and die, or leave toward the unknown?”
He added via a messaging app: “It was a night of horror, really. The explosions didn’t stop, the drones hovered above us all night. Many people fled their homes out of fear for their lives, and many others don’t know where they can go.”

• Hostages or Gaza’s Occupation: What Is Netanyahu’s Priority?

• Netanyahu calls for accelerating the takeover of Gaza despite warnings

Deaths and famine
On Monday, Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported that at least 98 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire across the strip in the past 24 hours.

It also reported that nine additional people, including three children, had died due to malnutrition and hunger, bringing the total number of famine-related deaths to at least 348, among them 127 children.

Israel disputes the famine figures reported by Gaza’s Hamas-run authorities, claiming that the deaths are linked to other medical conditions.

• Israel Prepares to Implement Gaza Occupation Plan and Evacuate Civilians

• Between Street Pressure and Coalition Threats: Scenarios for Netanyahu’s Response to the Gaza Proposal

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with his security cabinet on Sunday to discuss details of a new assault on Gaza City, which he described as Hamas’s main stronghold.

The military has warned Israeli leaders that the planned offensive could endanger the hostages still held by Hamas. In recent weeks, protests in Israel demanding an end to the war and the release of the captives have been on the rise.

According to United Nations estimates, nearly one million people live in Gaza City and its surrounding areas — a region that the UN declared famine-stricken at the end of August.

• Gaza Occupation Plan Takes Final Shape Despite Truce Talks

• Latest News from Gaza: Intensified Israeli Bombardment and Tanks Advancing to the City’s Entrance