Israel Launches Ground Operation in Gaza After Heavy Bombardments

In the early hours of Tuesday, September 16, Israel carried out heavy bombardments of Gaza and, according to Axios and Jerusalem Post, may have launched a ground operation aimed at seizing the entire city. Strikes also targeted central areas of the enclave, where tens of thousands of people are moving. Palestinian officials said the number of dead and wounded continues to rise.

The escalation came amid expectations of a full-scale invasion of Gaza, home to hundreds of thousands of people. Just hours earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during a visit to Jerusalem, assured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Washington’s unwavering support.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on X on Tuesday morning: “Gaza is burning” and vowed the country “will not retreat and will not stop—until the mission is completed.” Journalists in Gaza reported continuous airstrikes, artillery, and gunfire. Residential buildings have been destroyed, with people trapped under the rubble. At the same time, Israel’s military has not officially confirmed the start of a ground operation.

Israel is forcing Gaza residents to leave the city and move south, into the central part of the strip. The IDF estimates that about 250,000 people have already evacuated, but hundreds of thousands remain. Many say they cannot afford to move or fear doing so, as southern areas are also being bombed. Some who tried to leave returned after being unable to set up tents.

Meanwhile, Rubio traveled to Qatar, where Arab leaders a day earlier had sharply condemned Israel’s strike on Doha—reportedly aimed at killing Hamas leaders but ultimately unsuccessful. On the runway at Ben Gurion Airport, he said Qatar remains the only country capable of mediating over Gaza. Asked by the BBC about criticism of Israel from Arab and Muslim states, he stressed that the US insists the war must end through a political settlement and expects regional partners to “remain engaged.” According to Reuters and AFP, Rubio noted that the window for a deal is “very short” and added that Hamas must “cease to exist as an armed group.”

In Israel, families of hostages set up camp outside Netanyahu’s residence, fearing that the current strategy is putting their loved ones at mortal risk. Reports indicate that 48 hostages remain in Gaza, of whom about 20 are alive.

The escalation also followed Netanyahu’s refusal to rule out further strikes on Hamas leaders abroad, despite international criticism of the attack on Qatar. Days earlier, the White House said Donald Trump had assured Doha that “this would not happen again on their territory”—a pledge he reiterated on Monday evening.

Qatar, home to the largest US air base in the region, has hosted Hamas’s political bureau since 2012 and plays a key role in mediating indirect negotiations between the movement and Israel.

While Rubio met with Netanyahu, leaders of Arab and Islamic countries lined up in Qatar to condemn Israel for its escalating assault on Gaza and the strike on Doha. The war began after the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. Since then, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, Israel’s campaign has killed more than 64,500 people, nearly half of them women and children.

The UN has already declared famine in the enclave and warns that a new wave of offensives will push civilians into “an even deeper catastrophe.”