Israeli tanks began advancing on Thursday into two areas of Gaza City that are considered gateways to the city center, coinciding with the disruption of internet and telephone lines across the Gaza Strip, signaling a possible escalation of ground operations in the near future.
Israeli forces control the eastern neighborhoods of Gaza City and have bombed the Sheikh Radwan and Tal al-Hawa neighborhoods in recent days, positioning themselves to advance toward the city center and west, where most residents are sheltering.
“There’s no way I’m leaving,” said Bassam al-Qanou, a displaced person living with about 30 members of his family in a dilapidated makeshift camp on the coast.
What should we do?… Our children don’t sleep from fear anyway.”
The Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Thursday that at least 85 Palestinians were killed by Israeli airstrikes or gunfire across the Strip in the past 24 hours, most of them in Gaza City.
