GAZA CITY, Aug 29: Gaza City has been declared a dangerous combat zone by Israel, marking the beginning of a planned offensive that has drawn international condemnation.
The military has suspended midday pauses to fighting, allowing food and aid supplies to enter from 10 am to 8 pm in Gaza’s largest city.
Israel has also recovered the body of a hostage and the remains of another, and vowed its military offensive would return more.
This shift comes weeks after Israel first announced plans to widen its offensive in Gaza City, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people are sheltering and enduring famine.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Netanyahu, has described the recovery operation as a “bittersweet moment” for Rubi Chen, who believes his son is still in captivity in Gaza.
Israel has returned the body of one captive and the remains of another from Gaza, identifying one as Ilan Weiss, a man killed in the initial Hamas attack. Chen said his family has received intelligence that his son did not survive the attack, but Hamas has not provided any information about his son’s whereabouts.
Netanyahu also revealed that one set of remains belongs to Ilan Weiss, who was killed on October 7, 2023, while defending Kibbutz Be’eri against attacking Hamas gunmen.
The remains of the second Israeli are now being examined for positive identification at the Institute of Forensic Medicine. Weiss’ wife, Shiri, and daughter Noga, also kidnapped in the Hamas attack, were released from captivity in November 2023. He has two other daughters.
The Israeli Hostages and Missing Families Forum has urged the Israeli government to enter into negotiations and stay at the table until every last hostage comes home.
The Israeli military has started its attack on Gaza City, which is operating “with great force” on the city’s outskirts.
Avichay Adraee, the Arabic-speaking spokesman for the Israeli Defence Forces, posted on X Friday that the military operation is in its initial phase, but that the Israeli military will “intensify our strikes” and “will not hesitate” until all Israeli hostages are returned and Hamas is dismantled militarily and politically.
The UN’s humanitarian agency has expressed concern over the military’s statement that it would intensify its operation in Gaza City, predicting that the offensive would have a “horrific impact on people already exhausted, malnourished, bereaved, displaced, and deprived of basics needed for survival.”
UN and NGO teams will remain on the ground in Gaza City to provide life-saving support, but their work would need to be facilitated. (AP)
