Israeli forces are preparing to enter Gaza City, the capital of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, as early as this week, as Israel Defense Forces seeks to eliminate Hamas.
Israel’s military has surrounded Gaza City, the capital of the Gaza Strip, and has divided the northern and southern parts of the territory, marking a 'significant stage' in its war with Hamas, military officials said. According to Israeli media, troops are expected to begin marching through the streets of the capital as early as Monday or Tuesday, where they are expected to face Hamas operatives who are willing to fight street by street through their vast network of tunnels.
Communications in Gaza went down late Sunday for several hours, according to the internet access advocacy group NetBlocks.org and the Palestinian telecom company Paltel. The companies said cell phone and internet services were restored on Monday. The situation remains dire in the north as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians remain in Gaza City and other northern towns.
While Israel has allowed humanitarian aid into the territory to assist the millions of civilians impacted by the ongoing fighting, they have not allowed fuel to enter, saying Hamas would steal it for military purposes. Over 450 trucks carrying food, water, medicine and other basic aid have been allowed to enter Gaza from Egypt since Oct. 21, but this has been insufficient to meet mounting needs of the territory’s some 2.3 million Palestinians.
Some 1.5 million Palestinians, or around 70% of the population, have fled their homes since the war began on Oct. 7. Israel has dismissed calls for a pause in its ground operation or for a broader cease-fire despite increasing pressure to do so, including from the U.S. and nearby Jordan and Egypt. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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