According to Palestinian eyewitnesses, Israeli troops entered part of Gaza City on Saturday, earlier than expected. Reports said soldiers were seen in the Sabra neighborhood, particularly near a local school building. Israeli leadership had previously approved a plan to seize Gaza City.
When asked, the army stated it does not comment on the positions of its soldiers. Offensive Was Not Expected Until September Prior to that, the evacuation of the city—where an estimated one million people are sheltering—was planned. Media reports had indicated that the offensive was not expected to begin until September at the earliest.
Recently, however, Israeli soldiers had already advanced into the suburbs of the coastal city. Israeli ground troops had been deployed in the Sabra district since the beginning of the Gaza war against the Palestinian Islamist militant organization Hamas nearly two years ago.
Aid organizations have warned of a further deterioration of the already catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, where about two million Palestinians live. The IPC initiative had declared famine in Gaza City and several neighboring towns. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, dismissed the report as a “blatant lie.” According to Israel, the assessment is based on false information from Hamas.
