Israeli ground forces are now in the heart of Gaza City battling Hamas fighters. Palestinian civilians fled south from the city for the allotted four hours Tuesday before fighting intensified.
According to The Associated Press, Israel’s “push signals a major new stage in the month-old conflict, and its leaders foresee controlling the enclave’s security after the war.”
What’s Israel and Gaza’s future after the war?
Authorities say the fighting will cause a rise in an already staggering death toll, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently commented that Israel would be controlling Gaza’s security for “an indefinite period,” signaling an “uncertain endgame of a war that Israel says will be long and difficult,” per AP.
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said Wednesday that once the war ends, “Gaza should be unified with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority,” The New York Times reported.
He also said that “Gaza cannot continue to be run by Hamas” but that “it’s also clear that Israel cannot occupy Gaza,” per The Washington Post. He implied the possibility of a “transition period” after the war, saying it is “imperative that the Palestinian people be central to the governance of Gaza and the West Bank.”
What is happening with fighting in Gaza City?
The area is going through spotty phone and internet service, making it more challenging to receive independent information about the ongoing fighting in the region.
According to the Times, hundreds of thousands of civilians are still in northern Gaza — some who stayed behind are fearful they wouldn’t survive the journey evacuating and others worry they won’t be allowed back once the fighting ends.
Israel continues to fire air strikes into the area as ground fighting intensifies. One strike hit the Nusseirat refugee camp, killing at least 18 people Wednesday morning.
“Civilians, all of them civilians,” witness Mohammed Abu Daqa told Reuters. “An old woman, an old man and there are others still missing under the rubble.”
Israel Defense Forces said it continues to attack Hamas’ tunnel network beneath the city and say strikes have killed a Hamas weapons maker and several fighters, per Reuters.