GAZA STRIP (Dispatches) --  The Israeli military launched a brutal and long-anticipated ground invasion of Gaza City early Tuesday, a move that has deepened an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis. 
Under the guise of “Operation Gideon’s Chariots 2,” the assault was preceded and accompanied by relentless airstrikes that obliterated entire neighborhoods in one of the world’s most densely populated areas. 
The onslaught represents a staggering escalation in the ongoing siege of Gaza, intensifying what many international observers and experts have labeled a genocidal campaign against Palestinians.
Israeli war minister Israel Katz starkly declared, “Gaza is burning,” ominously warning that the entire Gaza Strip “will be destroyed” unless Hamas releases the remaining captives and disarms. 
Yet, the statement glosses over the indiscriminate nature of the military aggression that targets not just militants but hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in the enclave. 
Gaza City, home to nearly a million Palestinians, is being systematically reduced to ruins through a combination of aerial bombardment, artillery shelling, and ground incursions involving heavily armed infantry divisions.
The Israeli military’s onslaught targets central neighborhoods such as Sheikh Radwan, Al-Karama, and Tal al-Hawa—areas densely populated by civilians. 
Reports describe at least 37 airstrikes raining down on these districts within a mere 20 minutes, causing mass destruction and loss of life. 
The use of booby-trapped armored personnel carriers to destroy residential buildings reflects a deliberate tactic that endangers civilian lives, while relentless artillery and helicopter fire continue to pound northern Gaza. 
The bombardment’s thunderous echoes have reportedly been heard as far away as Tel Aviv, underscoring the scale of violence inflicted on the besieged city.
Despite claims of targeting Hamas fighters, the Israeli assault disproportionately impacts civilians. Hospitals like Shifa and Al-Ahli are overwhelmed with casualties, with dozens of deaths reported overnight, including many children. 
Saud al-Sakani, mourning the loss of her entire extended family buried under the rubble of their flattened home, symbolizes the human toll behind the statistics.
Over 600,000 civilians remain trapped in Gaza City amidst the onslaught, while many others have been forcibly displaced. The Israeli military has urged Palestinians to evacuate northern Gaza, directing them toward southern “humanitarian zones” claimed to be safe. 
Yet, UN officials repeatedly emphasize that nowhere in Gaza is safe, given the pervasive destruction and lack of basic necessities. Overcrowding, starvation, and lack of shelter in southern Gaza have forced many displaced families to return to dangerous areas in the city, illustrating the impossibility of safe evacuation under siege conditions.
The onslaught was launched hours after a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who expressed Washington’s unwavering support for Israel’s genocidal campaign—despite widespread international condemnation of the aggression and mounting evidence of war crimes. 
Rubio’s rhetoric dehumanizing Palestinians as “dedicated to violence and barbarism” reveals the entrenched biases that underpin the refusal of powerful allies to hold Israel accountable.
The onslaught in Gaza City not only devastates a population already shattered by years of blockade and intermittent attacks but also extinguishes any remaining hope for an imminent ceasefire. 
Zionist officials have suggested the invasion may last months, promising to “destroy Hamas’ military infrastructure,” yet this military objective is pursued at the expense of tens of thousands of lives and the destruction of Gaza’s already fragile infrastructure.
The timing of the invasion coincides with a landmark report by independent experts commissioned by the United Nations’ Human Rights Council, which concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. 
The report, rejected by Israel as “distorted,” accuses the Israeli military and political leadership of orchestrating acts that meet the criteria of the 1948 Genocide Convention, including deliberate killings, causing serious bodily and mental harm, and imposing living conditions calculated to destroy the Palestinian population.
Navi Pillay, chair of the UN inquiry, highlighted explicit evidence of “genocidal intent,” citing systematic starvation tactics, destruction of infrastructure, and targeted attacks on civilians. The report condemned the highest echelons of Israeli leadership for fostering a climate of dehumanization and hate, which underpins the ongoing atrocities.
These findings are corroborated by multiple independent bodies, including the International Association of Genocide Scholars, which formally recognized Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide earlier this month. Human rights organizations such as B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights–Israel have also documented the collapse of Gaza’s health system and the widespread suffering caused by the blockade and military operations.
Leaked Israeli intelligence data published by The Guardian reveal that an overwhelming 83 percent of Palestinians killed since 2023 were civilians—a casualty ratio seldom seen outside of genocidal conflicts like Rwanda. Meanwhile, a UN-backed food security classification declared a famine in Gaza, with half a million people facing catastrophic starvation. Thousands have already died from hunger, including hundreds of children.
While Israel’s military justifies the aggression as a response to Hamas’ operation on October 7, 2023, the disproportionate collective punishment of Gaza’s population contravenes international law and basic human rights. Families of captives have pleaded for a halt to the onslaught, fearing that continued bombing will kill their loved ones, yet their voices have been ignored by the Israeli regime.
The broader regional consequences are already manifesting. Egypt, a long-time mediator with a peace treaty with Israel, has escalated its rhetoric, with President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi openly calling Israel “an enemy” for the first time since 1979. Yemen’s port city of Hudaydah was also bombed, signaling the widening instability fueled by Israel’s war.
The International Court of Justice has issued binding orders for Israel to cease genocidal acts and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, but Tel Aviv has disregarded these rulings. The world watches as Gaza’s civilian population endures relentless bombardment, starvation, and displacement, with international mechanisms failing to halt the crimes or hold perpetrators accountable.
The ongoing Israeli onslaught in Gaza City is part of a broader strategy that systematically targets Palestinian civilians, inflicts collective punishment, and seeks to erase the Palestinian presence in Gaza.