Israel troops continue to advance in Gaza, with continued ground and airstrikes. Image: The Media Line.
(The Post News)-Israel has launched a full-scale military assault on Gaza City and is looking to seize the territory and expel nearly one million Palestinians. The attack has escalated the humanitarian crisis, with entire neighborhoods being razed and increasing international pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
At least 78 Palestinians were killed on Wednesday, 32 of them non-combatants looking for assistance, as Israeli warplanes and unmanned aircraft attacked residential compounds, clinics, and schools in and around Gaza City.
Hospitals reported that most of the casualties were women and children. In one case, an apartment complex bombing in the west of the city resulted in the deaths of an entire family except for a three-year-old boy who survived, wailing beneath the debris. “My son Rom is perishing, hungry, and being tortured,” grumbled Ofir Braslavski, whose son is held by the Israelis. “And the government wants to take over more land? I don’t understand that.”
Gaza Residents Trapped
Locals said Israeli soldiers bombed civilian areas with incendiary bombs, grenades, and explosives. In Sheikh Radwan, several schools and medical shelters filled with families who had fled were bombed, and tents and ambulances were burned. “Sheikh Radwan is being torched upside-down,” said Zakeya Sami, a mother of five. “They torched homes and burned tents. Drones instructed us to evacuate, but there’s no place to go.”
The Israeli army claims to be attacking Hamas bases in the guise of Operation Gideon’s Chariots, which is in its “second phase,” to vanquish the group and rescue remaining hostages. The UN and aid agencies, though, caution that the offensive is incurring disproportionate harm on civilians and may violate international law.
Since August 13, military campaign has killed 1,100 people in Gaza City alone, Gaza’s media office said. The UN reported that more than 82,000 new cases of forced displacement occurred between August 14 and 31, and they mostly moved to the crowded al-Mawasi region along the coast. But in southern Gaza, things are dire. Five children died Tuesday standing in line for water at a tent camp, reportedly under an Israeli drone strike. Israel said it was trying to kill a Hamas militant and is investigating the incident.
Last month’s reported famine gets deeper. Gaza’s Health Ministry verified six additional starvation-related deaths on Wednesday, bringing the total to 367 starvation deaths, including 131 children. UNICEF warns that more than 132,000 children under the age of five risk death from acute malnutrition by mid-2026. “This is not a humanitarian crisis anymore. This is starvation by design,” declared a UN aid coordinator.
Thunberg Joins Flotilla to Break Israel Blockade
Responding to the worsening crisis, the Global Sumud Flotilla set out from Barcelona this week, attempting to deliver humanitarian aid directly into Gaza by sea. On board with the hundreds of activists is climate activist Greta Thunberg, along with tons of essential supplies. “We sail in solidarity with the people of Gaza, who are being bombed and starved,” Thunberg said. “The world cannot stay silent.” Israel says it will halt the flotilla, maintaining its military blockade.
Thousands of Israelis demonstrated in Jerusalem, demanding an immediate deal to free the remaining 48 hostages. Demonstrators burned tires, disobeyed public buildings, and accused Netanyahu of abandoning Israeli hostages. Truce and hostage swap negotiations collapsed in July. Hamas offered a 60-day truce last month, with the liberation of 28 hostages (10 alive, 18 dead) in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
Israel rejected the proposal, insisting that Hamas first disarm before anything is considered. Hamas again said Wednesday that it was willing to accept a complete truce and hostage exchange but explained disarmament would follow only after the establishment of the Palestinian state.
Global Condemnation and Diplomatic Shifts
Global outrage at Israeli actions is increasing as Spain labeled Israel’s attack a “genocide” and vowed support for Palestinian statehood. Scotland withdrew all public funding for arms companies with Israeli arms connections. Meanwhile, the UAE threatened that West Bank annexation by Israel would be a “red line.” Utrecht University in the Netherlands called for an academic boycott of Israeli universities.
Several countries, including France, Canada, Belgium, Australia, and Spain, are set to formally recognize Palestine at the next UN General Assembly. “Europe’s response to Gaza was a failure,” said Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. “We risk losing our credibility if we don’t act.”
The war began on October 7, 2023, after a Hamas-planned attack on Israel that resulted in 1,200 deaths and 251 hostages. Israel’s war has proceeded to massacre over 63,700 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry. Analysts warn that the present strategy of Israel risks permanent displacement, regionalization, and widespread civilian killings.
This is a war of erasure,” Georgetown University professor in Qatar, Prof. Abdullah Al-Arian, explained. “Palestinians are not leaving, not out of defiance, but because there is no safe haven.” As Israel’s military tightens its grip on Gaza City, the humanitarian crisis deepens and patience around the world wears thin. Whether or not pressure from abroad will shatter the will to a ceasefire is yet to be known, but for Gaza’s civilians, the wreckage continues.
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