Israel unleashes ‘most intense’ Gaza bombing in two‑year war, defying Europe

JERUSALEM/CAIRO: Israel launched a long‑threatened ground assault on Gaza City Tuesday, declaring “Gaza is burning” as Palestinians described the most intense bombardment they have endured in the two‑year war.

An Israel Defense Forces official said ground troops are moving deeper into Gaza City, and that troop levels will increase in the coming days to confront up to 3,000 Hamas combatants the IDF believes remain in the enclave’s main urban area.

“Gaza is burning,” Defense Minister Israel Katz posted on X. “The IDF strikes with an iron fist at the terrorist infrastructure and IDF soldiers are fighting bravely to create the conditions for the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas.”

Bodies trapped under rubble

By launching this assault, Israel defied European governments threatening sanctions and even internal military voices warning of the operation’s risks. U.S. President Donald Trump expressed strong support for Israel, warning that Hamas would have “hell to pay” if it used hostages as human shields.

In one major development, a United Nations Commission of Inquiry issued a report declaring that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza. Israel rejected the findings as “scandalous” and “fake.” UN Secretary‑General António Guterres called the ongoing conflict “morally, politically and legally intolerable.”

Gaza health officials reported at least 70 deaths Tuesday, mostly in Gaza City, as airstrikes struck across the area and IDF tanks advanced. Footage obtained by Reuters showed people scrambling through rubble after a missile destroyed two multi‑story residential buildings overnight. A woman was captured on video crying as she carried a small child’s body, wrapped hurriedly in a green blanket.

Abu Mohammed Hamed said several of his relatives were either wounded or killed, including a cousin whose body remains trapped under a concrete block: “We don’t know how to take her out. We have been working on it since 3 a.m.”

EU plans new sanctions

Israel renewed its call for civilians to evacuate, and thousands fled south or west using whatever means they could: donkey carts, rickshaws, overloaded vehicles, even on foot.

“They are destroying residential towers, the pillars of the city, mosques, schools and roads,” said Abu Tamer, a 70‑year‑old man fleeing with his family from Sabra. “They are wiping out our memories.”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking in Jerusalem, said that while the United States seeks a diplomatic end, “we have to be prepared for the possibility that’s not going to happen.” Meanwhile, in Brussels, EU officials announced plans to impose new sanctions on Israel, including suspending certain trade provisions.

“It’s like escaping towards death”

Some residents remained even under heavy fire, either due to poverty and lack of transport or because there was nowhere safe to go. Um Mohammad, living in Sabra, said: “It is like escaping from death towards death, so we are not leaving.”

The IDF estimates that 40 percent of Gaza City’s population has since fled. Hamas officials claim 350,000 residents have left eastern neighborhoods, moving toward central and western areas, and another 175,000 have fled the entire city toward the south.

Much of Gaza City was razed in early 2023, though about 1 million people had returned to homes among the ruins. Now, a renewed assault threatens to push even more civilians into overcrowded coastal encampments lacking food, medical supplies, and safety.

Israel’s war in Gaza has resulted, according to Gazan officials, in over 64,000 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children.

Israel strikes Yemen’s Hodeida

Separately, Israel also launched airstrikes on the Yemeni port city of Hodeida on Tuesday, targeting what it described as “military infrastructure” used by the Houthi movement.

The strikes came after the “Iranian-backed Houthis” activated their air defense systems, according to a report by the Associated Press.

In a statement, the Israeli military said the port was being used to transfer Iranian weapons to the Houthis for launching attacks against Israel.

“The Hudaydah Port is used by the Houthi terrorist regime for transferring weapons supplied by the Iranian regime to carry out attacks against the State of Israel and its allies,” the Israeli military said.

In response, Yemeni Armed Forces spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that Houthi air defenses engaged the Israeli aircraft involved in the strike.

Saree claimed that the air defenses “caused significant confusion to the enemy” and forced some Israeli combat aircraft to retreat from Yemeni airspace before launching their attack.

He added that the operation had partially thwarted Israel’s incursion into Yemeni territory.