[Gaza City] The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have stationed 60,000 reservists on the outskirts of Gaza City in preparation for a possible ground assault. Israeli officials say the operation aims to dismantle Hamas, free hostages, and bring the nearly two-year conflict to an end, as the security cabinet weighs a hostage deal under growing international pressure.
The idea is to evacuate the city entirely from citizens, and then to occupy the city and to give Hamas militants the chance to surrender or to be killed
Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, told The Media Line that Israel views Gaza City as Hamas’ last stronghold. “The idea is to evacuate the city entirely from citizens, and then to occupy the city and to give Hamas militants the chance to surrender or to be killed,” he said.
We want to stop the war. The international community and President Abbas should intervene.
Inside the enclave, about 1,000 Palestinians staged demonstrations against the looming offensive, presenting their message as an appeal to the international community. Ramez Hassouna, a university professor, told The Media Line that “the educated and professional people in the Gaza Strip agreed to demand the right to a new project … with the threats of the Zionist occupation attempting to occupy Gaza City, which is already full of displaced citizens.”
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Lawyer Tawfiq Abu Ghalwa urged stronger foreign involvement. “We want to stop the war. The international community and President Abbas should intervene. The Egyptian and Qatari brothers should push as hard as they can to stop this war,” he told The Media Line.
“The Palestinian people are facing an unprecedented military force with high dignity. We appeal to the international community and the oppressive Zionist forces to halt every movement, to stop the killing,” community leader Saaed Ayoub told The Media Line, echoing the call for intervention.
Engineer Mohammed Al-Haddad pressed for broader regional engagement. “We call on the Arab countries, the Islamic countries, and we call on the whole world … and we call on Trump to stop this fierce war that has broken humans and non-humans,” he told The Media Line.
Appealing for a halt, without delay, in the fighting, youth activist Mohammed Al-Jarrou told The Media Line, “I call on all the parties to stop the war immediately, no matter what the price is.”
Michael, reflecting on the protests, said they remain limited. “It is still very marginal because the vast majority of the Gazans believe that Hamas will remain on its feet,” he noted. He added that Israel may occupy the entire Strip and set up a temporary military administration until an Arab-led mission force can assume governance.
This is the most complicated and difficult urban warfare that humankind has experienced … a very small place, but a very high-density place … with very well-developed tunnel networks of more than 700 kilometers
The conflict, Michael warned, is unlike any other. “This is the most complicated and difficult urban warfare that humankind has experienced … a very small place, but a very high-density place … with very well-developed tunnel networks of more than 700 kilometers,” he said. “Hamas is deeply embedded in the civilian society … and in addition to all of that, the Gaza Strip and Hamas are also very well defended by the international media and, unfortunately, by the international community.”
Giorgia Valente contributed to this report from Jerusalem.