A large number of people are fleeing Gaza City, according to local officials to BBC on Thursday morning.
Israeli forces have already established a stronghold on the outskirts of the city, said the army's spokesperson Effie Defrin to The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday evening. This comes after several days of intense bombings and artillery fire on Gaza City, which houses around one million inhabitants and is already largely in ruins.
What we see in Gaza is nothing but an apocalyptic reality for children, for their families, for an entire generation, says Save the Children's regional director Ahmed Alhendawi to the news agency AP.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has instructed the military to "shorten the timelines for taking control of the last terrorist strongholds and defeating Hamas", writes The Times of Israel. Call-up orders for a total of 60,000 reservists are being sent out this week and an additional 20,000 later in August.
The invasion has sparked widespread criticism, including from the UN. On X Secretary-General António Guterres calls for an immediate ceasefire to avoid the death and destruction that Israel's expanded operation "inevitably" will cause.
Israel has previously stated that the takeover of Gaza City will be preceded by evacuations south of the inhabitants, with a deadline set for October 7 - the two-year anniversary of Hamas' attack on Israel that triggered the war. After that, Israel plans to besiege the area. The people who are then left will be considered legitimate targets - Hamas members - and thus be killed.
