'Gaza is burning,' Israel's defence minister says, amid IDF's fight to free hostages, defeat Hamas

Israel started a long-threatened push into the heart of Gaza City after U.S. President Donald Trump’s top diplomat warned Hamas there’s a “very short window” for negotiations to end the war.

The Israel Defence Forces said Tuesday its troops have begun an “expanded” ground operation in the de facto capital of the Palestinian territory after weeks of airstrikes and incursions into the outskirts of the city. The offensive will broaden according to ongoing assessments of the situation, the military said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier the military had begun an intensive operation, signalling a new phase of the campaign is underway. Israel’s Army Radio reported that forces planned to encircle the city within days.

“Gaza is burning,” Defence Minister Israel Katz said. “The IDF strikes with an iron fist at the terror infrastructure, and IDF soldiers fight with courage to create the conditions for the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas.”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio left Israel on Tuesday morning for Qatar, where he said he would try to encourage the Gulf state’s leaders to re-engage in mediation talks between Israel and Hamas. Qatar was outraged by an Israeli missile strike on its capital, Doha, a week ago that targeted Hamas officials in a residential area.

“We want them to know how much we appreciate and respect all the time and effort they’ve put in with these negotiations,” Rubio told reporters in Tel Aviv before flying to Qatar, a key ally of the U.S. and home to the largest American military base in the Middle East. “We hope they’ll re-engage despite everything that’s happened. We know they’re upset about it.

“At some point, this has to end. At some point, Hamas has to be defanged, and we hope it can happen through a negotiation. But I think time, unfortunately, is running out,” Rubio said.

Israel started preparations for an offensive on Gaza City, home to roughly one million people, about a month ago. In recent days, Israeli forces have levelled dozens of high-rise buildings.

Israel’s told civilians to leave. The IDF says around 40 per cent of Gazans have fled so far and is urging the rest to do so too.

Several world governments — including in Europe and the Arab world — are calling on Israel to halt its plans, saying the offensive will lead to more suffering for Palestinian civilians. Many have been displaced several times already during the war and say there’s nowhere safe or with enough shelter and food for them to flee.

A UN-commissioned inquiry on Tuesday concluded that Israel is responsible for committing genocide in Gaza, and called for countries to fulfill their obligations under international law to end it and “punish those responsible.”

“It is clear that there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza through acts that meet the criteria set forth in the Genocide Convention,” said Navi Pillay, chair of the commission, referring to the UN directive adopted in 1948.

Israel rejected what it called a “distorted and false report,” saying the findings are based on “Hamas falsehoods.”

Rubio arrived in Israel on Sunday and Netanyahu said the trip, which included them praying at the Western Wall together, proved how strong U.S.-Israeli relations were.

Standing beside Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday, Rubio endorsed Israel’s goal of destroying Hamas on the battlefield. While the U.S. wants the Islamist group to negotiate, lay down its weapons and free 48 hostages that it still holds, “it may require ultimately a concise military operation to eliminate them,” Rubio said.

Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and European Union, triggered the war with an attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 that killed 1,200 people. Around 460 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza.

Rubio also suggested the Abraham Accords — a series of deals that saw a few Arab countries including the United Arab Emirates recognize Israel five years ago — could be expanded. That’s an important goal for Trump, but one that looks increasingly challenging given the anger toward Israel among Middle Eastern governments as the war in Gaza continues. Their frustration only increased after the Sept. 9 strikes on Qatar.

On Monday evening, Gulf leaders, including Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, met in Doha and condemned Israel’s attacks on Qatar. Saudi Arabia previously described them as a “criminal act.”

Qatar, along with Egypt, has been the main interlocutor between Israel and Hamas since their war started.

Bloomberg News, with assistance from Alisa Odenheimer and Dana Khraiche and additional reporting by Jewish News Syndicate

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