Israel announced early Friday that it plans to take over Gaza City, the largest urban area in the territory and one that has already suffered extensive devastation in repeated Israeli raids.
Another major ground operation in one of the few areas of Gaza not already under evacuation orders would likely spark even more mass displacement and further disrupt efforts to deliver desperately needed food in the territory, where experts have warned that famine is unfolding.
Israel has faced mounting calls from many of its closest allies to end the war, and the plan faces opposition within Israel from families of the remaining 20 or so living hostages held by Hamas and members of the security establishment who say there is little to gain militarily at this point.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says more military pressure is needed to achieve Israel’s goals of returning the hostages and destroying Hamas.
Not much is left of Gaza City
Israel has repeatedly bombarded Gaza City, and launched major ground operations there within weeks of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. Several neighborhoods and key infrastructure have been almost completely destroyed.
It was Gaza’s most populous city on the eve of the war, home to some 700,000 people, about the population of Washington, D.C. Hundreds of thousands fled under Israeli evacuation orders at the start of the war but many returned during a ceasefire earlier this year.
Israel already controls and has largely destroyed around 75% of Gaza, with most of the population of some 2 million Palestinians now sheltering in Gaza City, the central city of Deir al-Balah and the sprawling displacement camp …