Concerns aired as Israel readies for expanded operation in Gaza

Palestinians are on a new catastrophic edge as Israel's military on Tuesday ordered Gaza City residents to evacuate ahead of a ground offensive to seize the enclave's largest urban center, part of a planned takeover stirring repeated international alarm.

Taking over the city of 1 million people further complicates ceasefire efforts to end the nearly two-year conflict. Israel has taken control of nearly 75 percent of Gaza since Oct 7,2023.

"To all residents of Gaza City …the defense forces are determined to defeat Hamas and will act with greater force in the Gaza City area," the military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a statement on X. "Evacuate immediately via the Al-Rashid axis."

Over several days, Israel has destroyed 50 high-rise buildings in Gaza City, accusing Hamas of putting surveillance infrastructure in them.

"All of this is just a prelude, just the opening, to the main intensified operation — the ground maneuver of our forces, who are now organizing and assembling to enter Gaza City," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday evening.

The evacuation orders caused panic among Gaza City residents. Laila Saqr, 40, told AFP by telephone, "Israel destroys everything — even the memories. If they could, they would strip the very oxygen from the air."

International critics say Israel's plan, which includes demilitarizing the whole strip as Israel takes security control of it, could deepen the humanitarian plight of the 2.2 million population, which is facing a critical risk of famine.

Volker Turk, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, on Monday accused Israel of committing "war crime upon war crime" and said the scale of devastation in Gaza was "shocking the conscience of the world".

Phyllis Bennis, a fellow at the Washington-based Institute for Policy Studies, told Al Jazeera that Israel is intent on "ethnically cleansing Gaza".

"Netanyahu shows no signs of changing his demand that Hamas simply surrender as the only answer he would accept, or he will otherwise go ahead with more devastation of Gaza City, and the destruction one by one of high-rise buildings, regardless of who's in them," she said.

Mediation efforts by the United States, Qatar and Egypt have failed to bridge gaps between Israel and Hamas in order to secure a ceasefire and the release of remaining hostages.

Hamas confirmed on Sunday that it had received the proposal from the US that included "some ideas "toward reaching a comprehensive ceasefire.

But senior Hamas official Basem Naim later dismissed this as a trap, saying it amounted to an attempt to secure Hamas' rejection rather than to end the conflict.

Meanwhile, Israeli army radio said Israel tried to attack Hamas officials in Qatar on Tuesday. Qatar's Al Jazeera television, citing a Hamas source, said the attack targeted Hamas Gaza ceasefire negotiators.

Several blasts were heard in Qatar's Doha on Tuesday, Reuters witnesses said.

Flotilla hit

In another development, organizers of a Gaza-bound flotilla carrying aid and pro-Palestinian activists said on Tuesday that one of their boats was hit by a suspected drone off the coast of Tunisia, but authorities there said "no drones" had been detected.

The UN's special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, who was in Tunisia, told Reuters: "We do not know who carried out the attack, but we would not be surprised if it was Israel. If confirmed, it is an attack against Tunisian sovereignty."

The Global Sumud Flotilla is an initiative seeking to break Israel's naval blockade and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza using civilian boats. Sumud means "resilience" in Arabic.

Meanwhile, over 1,800 actors, entertainers and producers, including actors Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo and Tilda Swinton, signed a pledge released on Monday to not work with Israeli film institutions that they see as being complicit in the abuse of Palestinians by Israel.

Agencies contributed to this story.