Gaza War | Fear of major chaos in Gaza City

The Israeli airstrike on Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Yunis overshadowed the advance into Gaza City on Monday. The Hamas-controlled Health Ministry reported 20 deaths in Khan Yunis.

In Gaza City, the Israeli army (IDF) is now only a few kilometers from the center with the advance of tanks into the Sabra district. Artillery shells hit the tent cities of Sabra in advance of the tanks, as they had previously done in neighboring Zeitoun and Asdaa. Videos show drones firing on residents in their homes and on the streets. The attack on Gaza City began last week with bombings by fighter jets; Palestinian journalists filmed craters up to four meters deep between the tents on the outskirts of Gaza City.

An advance by the Israeli army on the ground was actually only expected in the next few weeks, as more than 60,000 Israelis are currently receiving conscription orders to take part in the planned capture of Gaza City .

Eyal Zamir, the commander of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF), had estimated the task would take at least four months, but Benjamin Netanyahu demanded a dramatic acceleration of preparations. The prime minister himself appointed Zamir, a hardliner, because he considered his predecessor too moderate. The extent of his falling out with Zamir was demonstrated by Netanyahu's visit to a naval base in Haifa last weekend.

Fear of shelling in the “protected area”

"We have created the conditions for an agreement, which is now on the table. We must seize this opportunity. But this depends entirely on Netanyahu." Zamir had even spoken out against an offensive on Gaza City, as he believed it would endanger the lives of the 20 hostages still alive and believed to be there. A total of 50 hostages remain in Gaza. But the radicals in Netanyahu's cabinet have prevailed against Zamir and numerous other warning voices from high-ranking officers in the army and intelligence service.

Palestinian aid organizations have counted over 100 deaths since the start of the offensive on the capital of the Gaza Strip. Many of the one million people remain in their homes and refugee camps. Many have already complied with several evacuation orders, fearing they will also come under fire in the "safe zone" designated by the army. Residents are no longer allowed to enter 86 percent of the Gaza Strip.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres is calling for an immediate end to the offensive. The deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza City is likely to be a major topic of discussion at the UN General Assembly in New York, scheduled for late September. Australia, France, and other Western countries want to recognize Palestine because of the daily attacks on Palestinians and the massive expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank. To avoid further offending US mediator Steve Witkoff and the US government, the Israeli prime minister offered to begin renewed negotiations on a ceasefire at the same time as the tanks advanced on Gaza City.

The 600,000 residents and 400,000 refugees are also expected to leave the city heading south. In the two cities captured by the IDF, Rafah and Beit Hanoun, many buildings were razed to the ground with bulldozers.

The mood in Gaza City is desperate. Those with enough money can still find something to eat in the financial and cultural center of the 42-kilometer-long enclave. But many residents have no reserves left after losing their income; they are starving. The Israeli army repeatedly sends text or voice messages urging them to flee. But neither the streets in the city center nor those toward the Egyptian border are safe. Hamas's guerrilla attacks repeatedly claim the lives of Israeli soldiers, and brief exchanges of fire are often followed by massive airstrikes. "We stay at home, organize one meal a day , and otherwise hardly move around the apartment," a resident of Sabra told the "nd" newspaper over the phone. "We rarely have water for showering or electricity. But no matter where we moved, it would be even worse there."

Israel is waging war on several fronts

The Gaza war continues to have a regional dimension. After the Yemeni Houthi rebels repeatedly fired rockets and drones at Israel last week, the Israeli Air Force bombed several targets in the capital, Sanaa. Although almost all of the missiles fired from Yemen were intercepted by Israeli air defenses, the Israeli military command reported this was the first time the Houthis had used cluster munitions. If the air defenses are overwhelmed by the high number of rockets fired simultaneously, as was the case during the twelve-day war against Iran, the Shiite movement, allied with Iran, could pose a military threat to the IDF. After Israeli fighter jets struck a fuel depot and a power plant, black clouds of smoke hung over Sanaa over the weekend. The Ministry of Health counted six dead and dozens injured after the airstrike.

Yahya Rahim Safavi, a military adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, warned last week that Iran was not in a ceasefire with Israel, but at war. Earlier, Iranian media reported the test of a new and as yet unknown type of supersonic missile.

Netanyahu also intends to use Israel's current military superiority in Syria and Lebanon to consolidate its occupation of strategic locations. According to reports from residents, the Israeli army captured Rakhla over the weekend. Located 20 kilometers south of Damascus, the town is a strategic hub between Baalbek and Beirut, 60 kilometers away. Netanyahu stated on Monday that they would only withdraw from the buffer zone in southern Lebanon if Hezbollah were disarmed. However, the Hezbollah leadership firmly rejects this, as the Lebanese government is too weak militarily to enforce it. On Monday, an Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon left one person dead.