Israeli Armored Vehicles Push into Major Gazan Civilian Area

Eyewitnesses and witnesses claim that scores Israeli armored vehicles and military equipment have entered a significant civilian district of Gaza City, marking the following day of Israel's ground offensive designed to securing the zone.

Visual evidence shows armored vehicles, construction vehicles and armored personnel carriers moving on the edges of Sheikh Radwan, in northern Gaza City. Thick clouds of smoke can be seen as Israeli forces discharge artillery shells and obscuring devices to cover their progress.

The Sheikh Radwan neighborhood was home to tens of thousands of people before the war and is regarded one of the city's thickly settled areas.

Israel asserts that the aim of its Gaza City offensive is to free captives detained by Hamas and neutralize up to 3,000 fighters in what it labels as the group's "final bastion" - but the mission has elicited widespread international censure.

The representatives of over 20 prominent aid groups, including Save the Children and Oxfam, cautioned that "the cruelty of the conditions in Gaza is unacceptable".

Residents in Sheikh Radwan reported that Wednesday's advance came after a wave of intense airstrikes striking structures and main streets across the area, in what seemed to be planning for the ground assault.

"The drones avoided anything. They hit energy collectors, power generators, water tanks, even the internet network," Saad Hamada who fled to the south with his family earlier on Wednesday told.

"Existence turned unbearable, and that is what pushed the majority to leave in spite of the danger."

Sheikh Radwan contains the zones of Abu Iskandar, al-Tawam, and al-Saftawi, and is crossed by al-Jalaa Street, a key route linking central Gaza City with its northern districts.

Locals report Israeli domination of the district could open the way for forces to advance further into the city and reach its inner zones.

The images of tanks in Gaza City's thoroughfares have caused broad alarm among residents, especially those still residing in the west and central parts of the city.

Eyewitnesses stated the sight of tanks moving near their homes reawakened reminders of prior operations, that ended with whole neighborhoods being destroyed.

The advance into Sheikh Radwan has triggered a further stream of displacement, with numerous families of families leaving to southern areas.

Lengthy columns of cars and carts loaded with belongings were spotted on the roads, as the Israeli army established a route to the south via the Salahedin Road. People mentioned journeys taking hours and charging large sums of shekels due to the lack of transport and soaring prices.

Before the conflict, Sheikh Radwan was one of Gaza City's busiest districts, location to dozens of schools, mosques, and shopping zones.

It had already been targeted repeatedly by aerial attacks in previous months, and there is extensive destruction, but the sight of tanks inside the area now represents a significant new stage in Israel's land offensive.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported on Wednesday morning that it had struck over 150 targets across Gaza City in two days in assistance of its ground troops.

Included in its operations, the IDF is also reportedly utilising old military vehicles loaded with explosives that have been adapted to be guided remotely. They are being driven to Hamas positions and exploded, according to Israeli media.

"Last night was extremely difficult, with continuous explosions and shelling that persisted from night until dawn," local Nidal al-Sherbi told.

"Military vehicles moved from Sheikh Radwan, Tal al-Hawa, and also from Shejaiya. It was a very, very frightening night."

Aid groups, UN agencies and others state the "designated region" people are told to move to is extremely overcrowded and unsuitable to sustain the about two million Palestinians who are anticipated to cram into it.

A number of who obeyed the military's orders to evacuate to the zone claim they found no space to pitch their tents, so they went back north.

"Everyday leaflets are distributed at us ordering evacuation, while the Israeli army shells buildings in every direction," a local inhabitant explained. "But where can we go? We have no shelter in the south."

The IDF announced on Tuesday that about 350,000 people had fled Gaza City, while the UN put the number at 190,000 since August. Calculations suggest at least 650,000 stay.

Israel initiated its military campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

No fewer than 65,062 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since then, approximately half of them women and children, as reported by Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.

It stated on Wednesday that 98 people had been killed and 385 injured by Israeli fire in the past 24 hours. Another four people had died from malnutrition, taking the total number of malnutrition-related deaths since a UN-backed body declared famine in Gaza City in late August to 154, it added.

The UN has cautioned that an escalation of the offensive will push civilians into "worsening catastrophe".

On Tuesday, a UN commission of inquiry said Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel's foreign ministry rejected the report and denounced it as "inaccurate and false".