Israelis protest against Gaza ceasefire, hostage release
The Israelis staged a national day of chaos calling for the end of the Gaza War and the liberation of hostages.
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CAIRO, Sept. 3 (Reuters) – Israeli forces moved deep into Gaza on Wednesday, when soldiers and tanks were pushed into Sheikladwan, one of the largest and busiest areas in the city centre.
In recent weeks, Israeli forces have made progress through the outskirts of Gaza city, only a few miles from the city centre despite international calls to halt the attack.
Gaza city residents said that nearly two years of war evacuated the homes and tent camps where the military housed the Palestinians. At least 24 Palestinians, of whom were killed by the military on Wednesday, crossing Gaza, local health officials said.
“Sheikh Radwan is burned upside down. The profession destroyed homes, burned tents, and drones played audio messages ordering people to leave the area,” said Zakeya Sami, the mother of five, referring to the Israeli army.
“If Gaza City’s acquisition does not stop, we may die. We will not allow anyone to stand and watch without doing anything to prevent our deaths,” she told Reuters.
The military dropped hand-held bullets and burned tents at three schools in the Sheikh Radwan area, where Palestinians were being used to evacuate evacuated Palestinians, according to residents who said they fled before the bombing.
Witnesses said the army exploded explosives loaded with explosives to destroy the house east of Sheikh Radwan, bombed the clinic and destroyed two ambulances.
In a statement Wednesday, Israeli forces said they will continue to operate against Gaza’s “terrorist organizations” and “removing the threats pose to Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the troops to take the city away. He describes the attacks on Israel in October 2023 as Hamas’ last home to spark the war.
Netanyahu argues that Hamas has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades and now controls only a portion of the territory, but if it does not surrender with its arms, it must be defeated.
Israeli forces have urged the country’s political leaders to reach a ceasefire agreement instead, warning that the attack would put hostages and soldiers who attacked it held in Gaza, Israeli officials have said earlier.
Mass displacement
“We need soldiers to go home. We need hostages to go home now. It’s been too long for them to stay there. Stop the war now,” said Ravid Vexelbaum, 50, of Tel Aviv.
Tens of thousands of reserves reported their obligations to assist in the attack on Tuesday. The units told reporters last month that military officials were expected to take on non-combat roles such as the Intelligence News, or take over from combat soldiers in places like the West Bank deployed in Gaza.
In Israel, public sentiment supports ending the war with a deal to see the rest of the hostage release. In Jerusalem on Wednesday, protesters climbed onto the roof of Israel’s national library and displayed a banner that read, “You abandoned and killed.”
The attack on Gaza city threatens to drive away one million Palestinians, almost half of Gaza’s population. Israeli forces have ordered civilians to leave the house in recent weeks, but reports have been denied by many families already evacuated.
More than 63,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the war began in October 2023, according to local health officials. The war has caused a humanitarian crisis across the territory, with Gaza health authorities reporting that 367 people, including 131 children, have so far been killed from malnutrition and starvation caused by acute food shortages.
Israeli officials have admitted there is hunger in parts of Gaza, but have rejected claims of hunger and starvation.
The war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led gunmen attacked communities in southern Israel near the border, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, including children, to Gaza. There are still 48 hostages held in Gaza, of which 20 are believed to be alive.
Hamas offers to release some hostages in exchange for a temporary ceasefire that Israel has not yet officially responded to. Hamas also offered to release all hostages in exchange for an immediate end to the war and withdrawal by Israeli officials, but refused to lay weapons.
(Reporting by Nidal Al-Mughrabi, Additional reporting and writing by Alexander Cornwell, Editing by William MacLean)
