Israel launches expanded ground offensive into Gaza City as residents flee

Israeli forces launched an expanded ground offensive into Gaza City on Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces said, ordering residents to move south as troops pushed to consolidate gains and dismantle what the military described as Hamas infrastructure.

The IDF said multiple frontline divisions had begun advancing under what it called an "expanded ground operation," a northward continuation of weeks of operations it has named "Gideon’s Chariots." The military warned that Gaza City had become a "dangerous combat zone" and urged civilians to evacuate via designated corridors.

The offensive followed sustained Israeli airstrikes across Gaza City. The IDF said the Israeli Air Force struck more than 850 targets in the city over the past week to degrade Hamas defenses and prepare the battlefield for advancing ground troops. An Israeli military official, speaking to The Associated Press under military guidelines, estimated that about 2,000 to 3,000 Hamas fighters remained in Gaza City alongside a network of tunnels.

Palestinian officials and hospital staff reported heavy strikes on Tuesday morning. Shifa Hospital said it had received 34 bodies by midday and dozens more wounded, and doctors at the facility described continuous bombing overnight. Long lines of traffic were reported along Gaza’s coastal road as residents piled belongings on vehicles or fled on foot.

The IDF said soldiers from the 98th, 162nd and 36th Divisions in the Southern Command, including both mandatory and reserve forces, had begun expanded operations in Gaza City under the broader campaign. It also said the Gaza Division and the 99th Division were operating in their respective sectors of the Gaza Strip.

The IDF estimated that roughly 350,000 people — about one-third of Gaza City’s pre-offensive population — had fled the city. That figure contrasts with a United Nations estimate, issued Monday, that more than 220,000 Palestinians had left northern Gaza over the past month following Israeli evacuation warnings.

Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, urged residents to "evacuate as quickly as possible to the published safe areas, by vehicle or on foot, via the Al-Rashid corridor south of Wadi Gaza," saying many residents had already moved south to protect themselves.

The operation has further strained an already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. Medical facilities, including Shifa, have repeatedly reported receiving large numbers of casualties and shortages of supplies. Aid groups and international officials have called for humanitarian access to reach displaced civilians, while the military has said it is seeking to balance operational goals with efforts to minimize civilian harm.

The expanded ground push marks another escalation in a months-long conflict that regional and international actors have tried to address through diplomacy. The State Department said U.S. officials, including Sen. Marco Rubio, met in Doha with Qatari leaders to discuss efforts to end hostilities and secure the release of hostages; the meetings, the department said, included expressions of support for Qatar’s role in mediation and its sovereignty.

Analysts say the urban environment, dense population and tunnel networks complicate any ground offensive and increase risks to civilians and soldiers. Israeli officials have said the campaign aims to disrupt Hamas’s ability to carry out attacks and to recover hostages taken during earlier cross-border incursions. Palestinian health and civil defense authorities do not distinguish between combatant and civilian casualties in their reporting and have documented heavy losses and displacement since the start of the conflict.

As the ground phase continues, international pressure for greater humanitarian access and protection of civilians is expected to intensify, even as military operations press forward and large numbers of residents move southward within the strip.