JERUSALEM — After a night of heavy airstrikes, the Israeli military announced Tuesday that its expanded operation in Gaza City “to destroy Hamas’ military infrastructure” has begun and warned residents to move south.
The announcement by Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee followed Defense Minister Israel Kataz’s statement that “Gaza is burning” and further escalated the Israel-Hamas war as any potential ceasefire feels even further out of reach despite weeks of diplomacy.
Also Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio left Israel and arrived in the energy-rich nation of Qatar, where he planned to meet with its ruling emir as the nation is still incensed over Israel’s strike last week that killed five Hamas members and a local security official.
While Arab and Muslim nations denounced the strike at a summit Monday, they stopped short of any major action targeting Israel, highlighting the challenge of diplomatically pressuring any change in Israel’s conduct in the grinding Israel-Hamas war. Egypt, however, has begun to escalate its language against Israel, referring to it widely Tuesday as the “enemy” for the first time in years.
Rubio, speaking to journalists in Israel before his departure, suggested the offensive on Gaza City had begun.
