Israeli military says it has begun ‘initial stages’ of attack on Gaza City

The Israeli military claims that the first “combat zone” has been set up for its offensive against Gaza City, with the government declaring the largest urban center in the besieged territory a “combat zone” and suspending daily fighting pauses there that allowed the flow of humanitarian aid there.

“We don’t wait,” the statement read. Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee stated in a post on X on Friday that “we have started preliminary operations and the initial stages of the attack on Gaza City.”

He claimed that “we are currently operating with great force on the city’s outskirts.”

The Israeli military announced that it had suspended its “tactical pauses” in its attacks on the city in northern Gaza, which had previously limited humanitarian operations there.

The military said on X that the tactical-local ceasefire of military activity will not apply to the Gaza City area, which constitutes a dangerous combat zone.

The Gaza governorate, a region that includes Gaza City, was the subject of a famine report released last week by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) initiative.

The UN’s Children’s Agency warned on Friday that staff members at a Gaza City nutrition center are having trouble adjusting to a rise in malnourished kids.

During a visit to the facility, where desperate parents bring their children to be screened and treated, it is obvious on the ground that Gaza City is ravaged by famine. She claimed to have met “so many” parents who were “in complete despair because they had exhausted all options.”

As a preventive measure, health workers at the center use fortified, high-energy biscuits to measure children’s upper arms while measuring children’s upper arms. Prepared therapeutic food, a concentrated paste that helps severe malnourished children recover over the course of several weeks, is provided for them.

According to Ingram, “It’s basically a medicine that’s given to kids like a paste.” However, “we simply don’t have enough; supplies are low, and the demand is high.”

As Israel continues to impose severe restrictions on humanitarian aid in Gaza as a result of a growing hunger crisis, the IPC also warned that the situation may soon spread to other areas.

At least five people have died in Gaza over the past 24 hours from starvation and malnutrition, according to a report from the Palestinian Ministry of Health on Friday.

Since the start of the war, there have been 322 deaths, including 121 children, in total.

Israeli offensive against Gaza City

As the military prepares for a larger assault on Gaza’s largest urban center, which could force a million Palestinians to be forced to live in concentration camps in southern Gaza, Israeli forces have been bombarding Gaza City frequently since early August.

Residents of the city have been forced to flee to the western regions of the city as a result of the constant bombardment, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Since August 6th, according to Gaza’s Civil Defense, more than 1, 000 residential buildings have been flattened in the Zeitoun and Sabra neighborhoods of Gaza City.

Residents praised constant bombardment and helicopter attacks. Only 150 meters (500 ft) away from us, they launched a firebelt attack. According to Sheikh Radwan’s Nihad Madoukh, who lives in northwest Gaza City, “they scorched the entire area.” The bombardment was “very frightening.”

Ahmed Moqat, a resident who has been relocated, claimed he had been moving frequently to avoid Israeli attacks. He said, “Here’s the debris that fell last night next to my head.” Only God knows where I’ll go when I leave the house.

Numerous fatalities occur in Gaza.

According to medical sources, at least 41 Palestinians were killed in attacks on Friday across Gaza, including six aid workers.

Palestinian health workers reported to Al Jazeera that on Friday, Israeli forces shot three aid seekers dead close to the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza.

At least five people were killed and dozens were hurt in the so-called “safe zone” of al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis, according to medical sources who spoke to the Israelis who were sleeping in tents.

A man who cares for his grandchildren, whose father was killed two months ago, said, “We were sleeping when the bombing happened.” Before the ambulances arrived, we took the injured ourselves to Nasser Hospital. “The strike hit our area. Stop fighting us against us. Have mercy on the children.