On Wednesday, Israel’s army dropped thousands of leaflets over Gaza City, urging residents to flee a heavy offensive through the main city of the besieged Palestinian territory.
The leaflets, addressed to “everyone in Gaza City,” outlined escape routes and warned that the urban area, previously home to over half a million people, would “remain a dangerous combat zone.”
This warning came as Israeli troops, supported by tanks and aircraft, engaged in the heaviest combat seen in months with Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters since the war began on October 7.
In one operation, the army reported killing fighters and discovering weapons inside the long-abandoned Gaza City headquarters of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
Elsewhere in Gaza, deadly strikes have hit four schools used as shelters over four days, drawing rebukes from France and Germany, which both called the attacks “unacceptable.”
“We call for these strikes to be fully investigated,” stated the French foreign ministry, highlighting a deadly strike on Tuesday on a school near Khan Yunis in the south.
“It is unacceptable that schools, especially those housing civilians displaced by the fighting, should be targeted.”
Heavy fighting also erupted in Rafah, where witnesses reported Israeli tanks advancing into the city center and firing intensely on buildings.
The latest fighting in Gaza has newly displaced 350,000 civilians, according to UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini, who stated before the leaflet drop that “there is absolutely no safe space in Gaza.”
One woman, Nimr al-Jamal, carrying her scant belongings through the ruins, told AFP on Tuesday that “this is the 12th time” her family has had to flee. “How many times can we endure this? A thousand times? Where will we end up?”
As the conflict continues into its 10th month, talks in Qatar aimed at negotiating a truce and hostage release are set to resume. An Israeli delegation led by Mossad chief David Barnea has arrived in Doha, according to a source familiar with the negotiations, speaking anonymously.
CIA director William Burns is also expected in Doha after holding talks in Cairo on Tuesday.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with US President Joe Biden’s special envoy for the Middle East, Brett McGurk, emphasizing his commitment to a proposed truce plan, “as long as Israel’s red lines are preserved,” according to his office.
