The Israeli military launched a land operation in Gaza City, according to the Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday, as two IDF divisions advanced toward the city. A third was anticipated to participate.
Smoke clouds were visible above the city in photographs captured at the Israel-Gaza border, which is the biggest city in the Gaza Strip. Major explosions were documented throughout the city on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Approximately 450,000 individuals had left Gaza City by Thursday, as reported by the IDF.
Latest Developments
Sep 18, 4:57 PM
U.S. blocks Security Council measure demanding a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner swap
The United States blocked another Security Council resolution that demanded a halt to hostilities in Gaza and the liberation of all captives taken by Hamas.
“Council Members disregarded the United States’ clear indication that this resolution was not acceptable. Instead, the Council chose a symbolic action—intended to provoke a veto—that benefits Hamas terrorists and those who finance and support them, providing them with a lifeline,” said U.S. United Nations Counselor Morgan Ortagus in a statement presented to the USSC prior to the vote.
“It’s high time that Hamas release all the hostages immediately and surrender. The United States will keep collaborating with its allies to put an end to this terrible conflict for the benefit of the people of Gaza, who deserve a future without Hamas, and for the entire Middle East, which is prepared to begin a new era of peace and prosperity,” Ortagus added.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
Sep 18, 3:41 PM
More than 450,000 Palestinians leave Gaza City, according to the IDF
Over 450,000 individuals have been relocated from Gaza City to the southern part of the region in the last 24 hours, as Israeli military forces “increased their operations in Gaza City,” according to a statement made by Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Effie Defrin during a press conference on Thursday.
Two branches are currently active in Gaza City, the IDF stated, with a third branch set to “participate in ground operations in the near future,” Defrin mentioned.
Since the start of the second phase of the current operation in Gaza City, Israeli military units have targeted over 1,200 locations they allege are associated with militants.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Sep 18, 3:40 PM
IRC forced to halt programming in Gaza City due to Israeli military takeover, it states
The International Rescue Commission stated that it has had to halt its activities in Gaza City because of the Israeli ground invasion of the area.
“Although there have been many warnings regarding the humanitarian consequences of taking over Gaza City, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and our partners have had to shut down all our programs. The solution is unfortunately straightforward,” said Bob Kitchen, vice president of emergencies at the humanitarian aid organization, in a statement.
“Nutrition therapy for undernourished children and expectant mothers has ceased, and our support services for women and children who have faced violence have been halted — although we still track cases as families move,” he wrote.
“With the water supply in Gaza damaged, we continue to provide emergency water through trucks in Gaza City, serving as a vital resource for the people we assist, while also carefully tracking the dangers our staff encounter,” Kitchen stated.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Sep 18, 3:34 PM
“The objective is to push Hamas to the breaking point,” the IDF states.
The Israeli Defense Forces are striving to push the last Hamas fighters in Gaza to the “breaking point,” said spokesperson Nadav Shoshani to ABC News.
Shoshani mentioned that there are still “thousands” of Hamas militants located in Gaza City.
“They are losing more than they are bringing in,” he added.
ABC News also raised concerns about the discrepancy between the IDF’s estimate that the ground campaign in Gaza City might last “months” and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s recent comment that the operation should be “brief.”
We are working to end this war as quickly as possible,” Shoshani stated. “However, this conflict must conclude under the correct circumstances. There should be no Hamas in power that could perpetrate another unprovoked attack on civilians.
When asked why the IDF has not released the evidence it claims to have regarding Hamas using high-rise buildings in Gaza City as a base, Shoshani stated that Hamas employs these structures as “a vantage point” to trigger homemade explosives against Israeli forces.
-ABC News’ Tom Soufi Burridge, Dorit Long, Lukasz Konopa, and Dragana Jovanovic
Sep 18, 12:47 PM
A shooter kills two people at the Israeli border with Jordan, according to the IDF.Two individuals lost their lives after a shooter began firing at the Allenby Crossing, which serves as a border point between Israel and Jordan, according to a statement released by the Israel Defense Forces on Thursday.
Security personnel killed the suspect who is said to have arrived at the checkpoint “in a vehicle carrying humanitarian supplies from Jordan,” as reported by the IDF.
A representative from Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency medical services, stated that two men, aged roughly 60 and 20, were declared deceased.
A declaration from Hamas following the event referred to it as a “brave operation.”
The Allenby Crossing is among the five land border points connecting Israel with nations to the east and south, and serves as one of the entry points for humanitarian assistance heading to Gaza.
The Foreign Ministry of Jordan stated on X on Wednesday that they are looking into the shooting.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs states in the post that Jordan condemns and rejects it as a breach of the law and a danger to the Kingdom’s interests and its capacity to provide humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip.
The statement refers to the driver accused of opening fire as “a civilian who started working three months ago as a driver providing aid to Gaza.”
As per the ministry, 22 Jordanian aid vehicles entered Israel via the bridge on Thursday. The ministry stated it is “monitoring … the status of the drivers who crossed the bridge today to provide assistance to Gaza, ensuring their prompt return to Jordan.”
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Sep 18, 12:45 PM
4 Israeli soldiers died in southern Gaza, IDF reports
Four members of the Israeli Defense Forces have died in southern Gaza, according to a statement released by the IDF on Thursday.
A cadet was also seriously harmed, the IDF stated.
These are the initial casualties the IDF has disclosed since the beginning of their ground operation in Gaza City earlier this week.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Sep 18, 12:43 PM
Israeli military attacks Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon, according to the IDF.
Israeli military forces initiated attacks on locations they claim are associated with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon on Thursday, according to a statement from the Israel Defense Forces.
Just prior to the IDF announcing their strikes on locations in southern Lebanon, they advised residents of three villages to leave structures they claimed were associated with Hezbollah, according to an announcement by Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s spokesperson for Arab media, on X.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Dorit Long
Sep 18, 7:52 AM
Residents flee northern Gaza: ‘This is not living’
Tens of thousands of individuals have left Gaza City in the past few weeks following Israel’s declaration of a significant military operation targeting the region’s biggest city — an action that commenced during the night into Tuesday.
Individuals are transporting their possessions on flat-bed trucks, in vehicles, by bicycle, or on foot when required.
ABC News interviewed a man who claimed he was walking south to evacuate.
This isn’t living. We’re losing. We’ve lost our homes, our children, and our money,” Ibrahem Hashem Shamallakh stated. “There’s no transportation. There’s absolutely nothing. I’ll just use a blanket to shelter myself if I have to.
Joumana Mabhouh has experienced multiple displacements throughout the conflict, she mentioned.
To move from north to south, it’s not just about losing your home, but losing Gaza entirely,” Mabhouh stated. “We are truly exhausted by these harsh conditions in the Gaza Strip.
Mabhouh stated that individuals are heading south lacking “essential food provisions.”
“As you can observe, individuals are traveling from the north to the south lacking essential food supplies, and the mothers are attempting to soothe their children with nothing in their hands,” she stated.
Approximately 400,000 individuals have left Gaza City as of Wednesday, per the Israel Defense Forces. It is estimated that around 600,000 people are still present in Gaza City.
-ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz and Ellie Kaufman
Sep 18, 7:22 AM
79 people have died in Gaza over the last 24 hours, according to health officials
Hospitals throughout the Gaza Strip documented 79 fatalities — among them nine individuals seeking aid — and 228 injuries over the last 24 hours as a result of Israeli military operations, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health’s report on Thursday.
Four individuals, one of whom was a child, also perished from starvation in Gaza within the past 24 hours, according to officials on Thursday. These fatalities have increased the overall count of starvation-related deaths in Gaza since the conflict started to 435, with 147 of them being children.
Since the conflict started in October 2023, a total of 65,141 Palestinians have lost their lives, according to the ministry’s statistics. This figure includes 2,513 individuals who died while attempting to obtain food at distribution centers throughout the area since May 28, as reported by the ministry.
-ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz, Somayeh Malekian, and Morgan Winsor
Sep 18, 4:58 AM
Gaza is being called a ‘real estate boom,’ according to a far-right Israeli official.
Israel’s right-wing Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich — a prominent supporter of Israeli settlements in both the West Bank and Gaza — stated on Wednesday that the Gaza Strip is a “real estate opportunity.”
Speaking at an urban renewal conference in Tel Aviv, Smotrich mentioned there was a “business plan” for Gaza that was on U.S. President Donald Trump’s “table.”
The President’s residence has not responded to Smotrich’s statements.
“I have begun discussions with the Americans, I’m saying this without any humor,” Smotrich stated, as reported by The Associated Press.
We spent a significant amount of money on this conflict, so we need to determine how we will take a percentage from the land marketing in Gaza later,” Smotrich added. “And now, seriously, we have completed the demolition phase, which is always the initial step in urban renewal. Now we need to construct, and it’s much more cost-effective.
The President’s residence has not responded to Smotrich’s statements.
Trump has previously proposed that the U.S. might “take control” of and “possess” the Gaza Strip as part of a potential future peace agreement. The president has indicated that all Palestinians could be moved out of Gaza during its rebuilding, stating that the U.S. could “simply clear out the entire area.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt informed reporters following Trump’s February remarks that Palestinians would be “temporarily moved” during the reconstruction process, even though officials indicate it might take as long as 15 years to finish.
Satellite photos reveal a large-scale departure from northern Gaza as part of an Israeli land operation in Gaza City.
In the meantime, groups of settlers and right-wing politicians in Israel have been pushing for the establishment of new Israeli settlements in the area and the permanent displacement of Palestinians from the region.
Regional and other American allies have dismissed Trump’s suggestions regarding Gaza.
Experts have pointed out that taking a territory through force would breach international law, and moving its inhabitants would amount to a war crime. Some opponents of the plan argue that forcibly moving Palestinians from Gaza might be considered “ethnic cleansing.”
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
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