Gaza City... The Israeli army destroys entire neighborhoods one after another

SadaNews - The Israeli army has destroyed entire neighborhoods in Gaza City, one after another, as part of a new ground offensive on what was once the largest urban center in the enclave.

The war between Israel and Hamas, which began two years ago, has flattened vast areas of the Gaza Strip, including the city of Rafah in the south and Beit Hanoun in the north. However, the army had not previously executed such widespread destruction in its operations inside Gaza City.

Despite a large part of the city still standing, satellite images show that Israeli forces are demolishing entire areas during their incursion into the city, including the Zaitoun neighborhood and an area near Sheikh Radwan, where dozens of buildings were destroyed during September.

In the past, Israeli forces would push into Gaza City and then withdraw, returning later to fight against what they described as a "renewed rebellion" by Hamas. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that this time is different because the army will maintain control over the areas it seizes.

He said in an interview last month with Channel 14, a right-wing Israeli television channel, "We take the land and keep it. We purify it and then advance."

Netanyahu asserts that the aim of this operation is to deal a decisive blow to Hamas in one of its last strongholds in the Gaza Strip. However, many Israelis doubt the success of this strategy now, as Hamas has shown resilience despite a devastating war that has lasted nearly two years.

The Israeli ground assault has forced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee their homes in Gaza City, crowding into increasingly numerous tents in camps in the center and south of the enclave.

This has exacerbated what was already a humanitarian disaster in Gaza, where widespread hunger prevails, mass displacement continues, and health services, schools, and infrastructure are collapsing. Many residents weary from the war say they cannot, or do not want to, be displaced again, with many having no homes to return to.

As they advance toward Gaza City, Israeli forces used existing buildings as military bases and later destroyed them with explosives before advancing further, according to satellite images and videos verified by The New York Times.

One of the clips shows the army destroying the Al-Furqan school in the city, which had previously been used as a military site.

In addition to the demolitions, Israeli forces continued to launch airstrikes across Gaza City, targeting hundreds of sites since mid-September.

In a satellite image taken on September 18, the most recent high-resolution image available from Planet Labs, a commercial satellite company, there were fewer tents visible compared to the situation two days before Israel announced the start of its ground assault on Gaza City. However, hundreds of tents remained visible, many located about a mile away from Israeli military vehicles.

Mustafa Sayam (44) said that he finally fled from the Al-Shati camp north of the city on September 24, as Israeli forces approached and the sounds of explosions intensified. He walked south for hours on foot with his wife and three children until they reached the center of Gaza.

Sayam's house was still standing before the current Israeli operation, but that may not be the case when he returns.

He said, "It seems that the war has no objective or meaning, except to destroy as much of the foundation of life in Gaza as possible."

Israeli military officials tell journalists that there is no policy for the mass demolition of civilian neighborhoods and that they target sites used by Hamas and blow up underground tunnels and other military objectives.

However, some Israeli leaders have hinted at the possibility of going further.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant threatened in August that Gaza City will become "like Rafah and Beit Hanoun," two cities that were nearly completely destroyed in the war, unless Hamas lays down its arms and releases the remaining hostages.

Another member of the small security cabinet, Eli Cohen, echoed the same threat in a television interview with Channel 14, saying that "Gaza City itself must be just like Rafah, which we turned into a city of ruins."