Tens of thousands of Palestinians are fleeing Gaza City as Israel intensifies its major ground offensive to seize control of the territory, now in its second day.
Overnight bombardments struck multiple locations across the city, with Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry reporting that al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital — the enclave’s only specialist facility for pediatric cancer and kidney patients — was hit three times, forcing half its patients and families to evacuate. Israel’s military said it was “looking into” the claim.
Other hospitals reported at least 35 people killed by Israeli fire on Wednesday, mostly in the city’s north. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that it had targeted more than 150 sites across Gaza City within 48 hours in support of advancing ground forces.
Israel says its operation seeks to rescue hostages and eliminate an estimated 3,000 Hamas fighters in what it has called the group’s “last stronghold.” But the campaign has drawn sharp condemnation worldwide, with leaders of more than 20 aid agencies — including Save the Children and Oxfam — describing the humanitarian toll as “unconscionable” and urging urgent international intervention.
Evacuation and Humanitarian Crisis
As airstrikes continued, massive convoys of Palestinians fled south using donkey carts, rickshaws, overloaded vehicles, and on foot. The IDF said it had temporarily opened a second evacuation route, the Salah al-Din road, for 48 hours, in addition to the main coastal road to the designated “humanitarian zone” in al-Mawasi.
However, many displaced families reported being unable to afford the journey. The cost of renting a truck has soared to nearly $900, while tents for families sell for more than $1,200.
“It took us 10 hours to reach Khan Younis, and we paid 3,500 shekels [$770] for the ride,” said Lina al-Maghrebi, a mother of three from Sheikh Radwan. “The line of cars and trucks seemed endless.”
Aid groups warn that the designated zone is already overcrowded and cannot sustain the more than two million Palestinians expected to seek shelter there. Some evacuees have returned north after failing to find space to pitch tents.
The IDF said roughly 350,000 people had already fled Gaza City, though UN estimates put the number closer to 190,000 since August, with at least 650,000 still trapped inside.
Hostages and International Backlash
Meanwhile, families of the 48 remaining hostages held by Hamas protested outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem, accusing the government of endangering their loved ones with the offensive.
“Bringing down buildings in Gaza — who are you bringing these buildings down on?” asked Macabit Mayer, whose nieces Gali and Ziv Berman remain in captivity.
Pope Leo XIV echoed calls for restraint, denouncing the conditions in Gaza as “unacceptable” and demanding a ceasefire.
In Europe, the European Commission proposed sanctions against Israel, including restrictions on trade and measures targeting far-right Israeli ministers and violent settlers, citing illegal settlement expansion and wartime conduct. The proposal faces opposition from some EU member states.
The developments came just a day after a UN Commission of Inquiry concluded that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, citing targeted attacks on children, widespread destruction of cultural sites, and the use of sexual and gender-based violence by Israeli forces. Israel rejected the report as “false and distorted.”
Mounting Toll
The war, launched in response to Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack that killed 1,200 people and saw 251 others taken hostage, has now killed at least 64,964 Palestinians — nearly half women and children — according to Gaza’s health ministry.
With famine already declared in Gaza City, the UN has warned that the latest offensive risks plunging civilians into “even deeper catastrophe.”
Source – My News Ghana
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