On Wednesday, Israel announced the opening of a “temporary” humanitarian route for residents leaving Gaza. The decision came as the country launched a large-scale ground offensive following heavy airstrikes on the enclave’s largest city.
Military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said that “a temporary route is being opened along Salah al-Din Street.” According to him, the corridor will remain open for only 48 hours.
The day before, Israel began its ground operation in Gaza, deploying tanks and remotely operated armored vehicles loaded with explosives. The offensive is unfolding despite international criticism and the findings of a UN commission that accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians. Israel’s Foreign Ministry rejected the report, calling it “distorted and false.”
For the first time, the Israeli military outlined a timeline for the campaign, stating that the assault on Gaza could last “several months,” until the country establishes control over the city.
Palestinians leaving northern Gaza move south along the coastal road. September 16, 2025.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the main objectives of the current offensive are "to defeat the enemy and evacuate the population." Notably, he made no mention of freeing Israeli hostages—until now consistently described as one of the central aims of the war. Relatives of those held in Gaza, along with their supporters, staged a protest outside his residence in Jerusalem, accusing the prime minister of abandoning efforts to save their loved ones.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said it had become clear that Israel is not interested in a peaceful resolution. "Israel intends to see this through and is unwilling to engage in serious negotiations for a ceasefire, a stance that carries catastrophic consequences even from its own perspective," he said.
Meanwhile, the situation is rapidly deteriorating:
⋅ Gaza’s Health Ministry reported on Tuesday that 59 people were killed and 386 wounded over the past 24 hours. The total number of Palestinian deaths in nearly two years of war has reached 65,000, though the real figures may be considerably higher.
⋅ On Wednesday, the European Commission will present a plan for EU member states that includes "measures to pressure the Israeli government to change course in the war in Gaza," according to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. She warned that Israel’s ground offensive "will make an already desperate situation even worse: it means more deaths, more destruction and more displacement."
⋅ In Iran on Wednesday, a man convicted of spying for Israel’s Mossad since 2022 was executed by hanging. The judiciary’s Mizan Online agency reported that "Babak Shahbazi was executed this morning after the completion of legal procedures and the approval of the sentence by the Supreme Court."
⋅ Australian broadcaster SBS indicated it has no plans to boycott the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, even if Israel is allowed to participate—unlike a number of EU countries. The final decision on Israel’s inclusion will be made by the contest’s leadership in December.
⋅ Twenty prominent writers—including Sally Rooney, Deborah Levy, Nobel laureate Annie Ernaux and Pulitzer Prize winner Viet Thanh Nguyen—called on French President Emmanuel Macron to revive the "rescue program" for evacuating Palestinian writers, scholars and artists from Gaza. The Pause program, along with a student evacuation initiative, was suspended by the French government in early August following reports of antisemitic posts by one of the students.
⋅ Gaza’s Health Ministry reported on Tuesday that 59 people were killed and 386 wounded over the past 24 hours. The total number of Palestinian deaths in nearly two years of war has reached 65,000, though the real figures may be considerably higher.
⋅ On Wednesday, the European Commission will present a plan for EU member states that includes "measures to pressure the Israeli government to change course in the war in Gaza," according to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. She warned that Israel’s ground offensive "will make an already desperate situation even worse: it means more deaths, more destruction and more displacement."
⋅ In Iran on Wednesday, a man convicted of spying for Israel’s Mossad since 2022 was executed by hanging. The judiciary’s Mizan Online agency reported that "Babak Shahbazi was executed this morning after the completion of legal procedures and the approval of the sentence by the Supreme Court."
⋅ Australian broadcaster SBS indicated it has no plans to boycott the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, even if Israel is allowed to participate—unlike a number of EU countries. The final decision on Israel’s inclusion will be made by the contest’s leadership in December.
⋅ Twenty prominent writers—including Sally Rooney, Deborah Levy, Nobel laureate Annie Ernaux and Pulitzer Prize winner Viet Thanh Nguyen—called on French President Emmanuel Macron to revive the "rescue program" for evacuating Palestinian writers, scholars and artists from Gaza. The Pause program, along with a student evacuation initiative, was suspended by the French government in early August following reports of antisemitic posts by one of the students.
Palestinians who fled northern Gaza move south along the coastal road after Israel announced an expanded military operation in the territory.
The bombardment of Gaza, which had grown steadily more intense and deadly in recent weeks, felt like an unending earthquake in the early hours of Tuesday.
"Even when the strikes are not right next to us, we can hear them clearly, and the ground shakes from the force of the explosions," said Fatima al-Zahra Sahweil, 40, a media researcher. She said the dead and wounded from the night’s barrage had been taken to the al-Shifa medical complex, where the situation was described as "catastrophic."
She admitted she had stopped following the news, as she faced the near-impossible decision of how best to protect her four children. The Rashid coastal road, designated by Israel as an "escape corridor" to the south, was clogged with the exhausted and desperate. The cost of a ride was prohibitively high.
"On top of that, I don’t have a tent, and buying one is too expensive. I wouldn’t be able to take all the belongings and supplies that I have already had to replace several times," Sahweil said. "And then we would face the struggle of finding water, with no free space to settle. If I leave, I will be heading into complete uncertainty."
Like more than 90% of Gaza’s residents, her family has already been displaced—and not just once. They have been forced to relocate 19 times. Now, as Israel launches a new offensive, the army is ordering about a million people sheltering in Gaza to move south again. But Sahweil and her relatives, like many others, have already been there and know that the south has not provided safety from violence.