Israel announced the start of its long-awaited ground operation into Gaza City on Tuesday, declaring "Gaza is burning".
An Israeli military official said the Israeli Defence Forces had begun the main stage of their ground operation into Gaza City, the main urban centre in the enclave, where Israel has ordered hundreds of thousands of residents to flee.

The military gave few initial details but said its troops had begun "dismantling Hamas terrorist infrastructure in Gaza City". Residents should leave.

"Gaza is burning," Defence Minister Israel Katz posted on X. "The IDF strikes with an iron fist at the terrorist infrastructure and IDF soldiers are fighting bravely to create the conditions for the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas."

Residents said bombardment of the city had been ramped up dramatically over the past two days, with heavier explosions that destroyed dozens of homes, and naval boats joining tanks and planes in the bombardment of the coast.

"We have launched a significant operation in Gaza," Netanyahu said at the start of testimony in court in an ongoing corruption trial.

RUBIO SHOWS US SUPPORT FOR ISRAELI HARD LINE

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who visited on Monday, offered apparent backing for the Israeli government's decision to abandon ceasefire talks and use force to smash Hamas.

While the United States wished to see a diplomatic end to the war, "we have to be prepared for the possibility that's not going to happen", Rubio said. He endorsed the Israeli demand that Hamas surrender its weapons and free all remaining hostages at once, as the only way to end the war.

Gaza health officials reported at least 24 people killed, most of them in Gaza City, in the early hours of the assault.

Netanyahu ordered the military last month to capture Gaza City, which he describes as the last stronghold of the militant group that launched the October 2023 surprise attack on Israel that precipitated the war.

Much of Gaza City was already laid to waste in the early weeks of the war in 2023, but around 1 million Palestinians had returned there to homes among the ruins. Forcing them out means nearly the entire population of Gaza will now be confined to encampments along the coast further south in what Israel calls a humanitarian area.