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Israeli ground forces move deeper into Gaza even as UN body calls for 'ending genocide’
An Israeli military official said Israeli forces have “transitioned into main phase of the plan for Gaza City”
Israeli troops are moving deeper towards the centre of Gaza City, after the country's military launched a ground offensive on the destroyed Palestinian urban hub overnight on Tuesday, an official told journalists. The official said that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had “transitioned into the next phase”, adding that this was the “main phase of the plan for Gaza City.”
“IDF (military) southern command forces have expanded ground activity into Hamas's main stronghold in Gaza, which is Gaza City,” he said.
"We are moving towards the centre" of the Gaza City, AFP quoted the military official as saying. He replied in the affirmative when asked whether the ground troops had moved deeper into the central Gaza City.
An official further told the news agency Reuters that the Israeli military was prepared to continue the ground offensive in Gaza “until Hamas is defeated”.
The official claimed that the IDF would continue operations in a swift and safe manner, to prioritise the safety of civilians as well as hostages.
UN commission urges Israel ‘to end genocide’
The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which includes Jerusalem and East Israel, has called for the ending of the “genocide” in Gaza.
The three-member commission said that Israel has committed genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza, with a new report from the commission finding that four of the five genocidal acts under international law had been carried out since the start of the war with Hamas in 2023, ANI reported.
The four acts include – the killing of members of a group, causing them serious physical and mental harm, deliberately taking actions to destroy the group, and the imposition of measures which prevent births.
The commission, while issuing a report, cited statements made by Israeli leaders and officials and recounted the conduct of the IDF as evidence of the country's intent towards genocide.
Israel has rejected the report, which amounts to a final message from the team headed by former UN rights chief Navi Pillay, as “distorted and false”.
