"Gaza is burning": Israel’s new assault kills 90 as world condemns war crimes
By isabelle // 2025-09-18
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  • Israel launched a brutal new ground offensive in Gaza City, killing at least 90 Palestinians while a UN commission ruled Israel is committing genocide.
  • Israeli forces targeted civilian neighborhoods, hospitals, and infrastructure, forcing thousands to flee as medical supplies and communications collapse.
  • The death toll has now exceeded 65,000, with over 165,000 wounded since October 2023, as Israel admits to 150+ strikes in recent days.
  • The UN condemns Israel’s systematic destruction of Gaza, calling it a genocide with intent to erase Palestinians as a group.
  • Civilians have nowhere left to run, facing starvation, bombardment, and a collapsed humanitarian system with no international intervention in sight.
The sky over Gaza City turned black with smoke on Tuesday as Israeli forces launched a devastating new ground offensive, killing at least 90 Palestinians and wounding countless others in a barrage of airstrikes, artillery fire, and explosive-laden vehicles. The assault came on the same day a United Nations commission ruled that Israel is committing genocide in the besieged enclave. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz celebrated the carnage, declaring on X that "Gaza [City] is burning." The military announced a "new phase" in its 23-month war, targeting neighborhoods like Tel al-Hawa, Rimal, and Daraj with relentless force. Thousands of Palestinians fled south with nothing but the clothes on their backs, while others sought refuge outside al-Quds Hospital, dragging mattresses and whatever belongings they could salvage. The Ministry of Health warned of "severe overcrowding" in the few remaining functional hospitals, where medical teams are operating with depleted supplies and a critical shortage of blood. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the assault as "horrendous," stating, "We are seeing massive destruction of neighborhoods, now the systematic destruction of Gaza City... massive killing of civilians in a way that I do not remember in any conflict since I am secretary general." His words echoed the UN commission’s 72-page report, which found Israel guilty of four of the five acts prohibited under the 1948 Genocide Convention, with clear intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a group.

A humanitarian catastrophe worsens

The death toll in Gaza has now surpassed 65,000, according to local health officials, with another 165,697 wounded since October 2023. The Israeli military admitted to striking Gaza City more than 150 times in recent days, toppling high-rise towers in areas packed with displaced families living in tent camps. Israel claims these buildings were used by Hamas for surveillance, but the result has been civilian devastation. Overnight strikes alone killed at least 16 people, including women and children. Hospitals, already reduced to "shells" after nearly two years of war, are now under direct threat. The al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital was hit multiple times, forcing half of its 80 patients—including four children in intensive care and eight premature babies—to flee. "This attack has once again shattered the illusion that hospitals or any place in Gaza are safe from Israel’s genocide," said Fikr Shalltoot, Gaza director for Medical Aid for Palestinians. Meanwhile, Israeli forces have cut off phone and internet services in northern Gaza, making it nearly impossible for Palestinians to call for help, coordinate evacuations, or document the atrocities unfolding in real time. The Palestinian Telecommunications Regulatory Authority confirmed that strikes on network lines had severed communications, leaving hundreds of thousands isolated.

A population with nowhere left to run

As Israeli troops press deeper into Gaza City, the question remains: where can civilians go? The south, already overcrowded and bombed repeatedly, offers no safety. Many Palestinians, weakened by near-starvation, cannot physically flee. Others refuse to abandon their homes, even as Israel accelerates its campaign to make Gaza City uninhabitable. The UN has warned of famine, with over 570,000 Gazans facing acute hunger. Aid groups, including Save the Children and the Norwegian Refugee Council, have demanded "decisive action" from the international community, stating, "What we are witnessing in Gaza is not only an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, but what the UN Commission of Inquiry has now concluded is a genocide." For now, the bombs continue to fall. The death toll continues to rise. And the people of Gaza are left with a terrible choice: stay and face annihilation, or flee into the unknown, where survival is far from guaranteed. Sources for this article include: MiddleEastEye.net APNews.com AlJazeera.com TheGuardian.com
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