Israel launched its long-anticipated ground assault on Gaza City before dawn on Tuesday, shortly after visiting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio backed its goal of eradicating Hamas in Gaza.

A United Nations probe, meanwhile, charged Israel with committing “genocide” in the Palestinian territory and accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials of incitement.

The assault drew widespread condemnation, with the UN rights chief demanding an end to the “carnage”.

During the night, the military unleashed a massive bombardment of Gaza City as Israeli troops moved deeper into the territory’s largest urban hub.

“Last night, we transitioned into the next phase, the main phase of the plan for Gaza City… Forces have expanded ground activity into Hamas’s main stronghold in Gaza, which is Gaza City,” a military official told journalists.

“We are moving towards the centre” of Gaza City, he said.

The military estimated there were 2,000-3,000 Hamas militants operating in the area, he added.

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Defence Minister Israel Katz earlier said Gaza City was “on fire”. “The IDF (Israeli military) is striking terrorist infrastructure with an iron fist,” he said.

The military estimated that about “40 per cent” of Gaza City residents had left and moved to the territory’s south, the military official said.

Witnesses told AFP of relentless bombing in Gaza City, much of which is already in ruins after nearly two years of Israeli strikes.

Only huge piles of rubble remained of a residential block in the north of the city, hit by overnight bombing.

“Why kill children sleeping safely like that, turning them into body parts?” said Abu Abd Zaquout.

“We pulled the children out in pieces.”

– ‘Genocide’ –

Gaza’s civil defence agency said at least 36 people had been killed by Israeli fire on Tuesday.

Media restrictions in the territory and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.

The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI), which does not speak for the world body, found that “genocide is occurring in Gaza and is continuing to occur”, commission chief Navi Pillay told AFP.

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“The responsibility lies with the State of Israel.”

The investigators said explicit statements by Israeli civilian and military authorities, along with the pattern of Israeli forces’ conduct, “indicated that the genocidal acts were committed with intent to destroy… Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as a group”.

The report concluded that Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, and former defence minister Yoav Gallant have “incited the commission of genocide”.

Israel said it “categorically rejects this distorted and false report” and called for the “immediate abolition” of the COI.

UN rights chief Volker Turk told AFP and Reuters that: “It’s for the court to decide whether it’s genocide or not, and we see the evidence mounting.”

The European Union said the ground assault on Gaza City would worsen an already “catastrophic” humanitarian situation, while Britain said it would bring only “more bloodshed, kill more innocent civilians and endanger the remaining hostages”.

– Statehood push –

Despite the mounting criticism, Rubio on Monday offered robust backing for the offensive as he met Netanyahu.

“We think we have a very short window of time in which a deal can happen. We don’t have months anymore, and we probably have days and maybe a few weeks to go,” he told reporters as he left Israel.

Rubio said a diplomatic solution in which Hamas demilitarises remained the US preference, although he added: “Sometimes when you’re dealing with a group of savages like Hamas, that’s not possible, but we hope it can happen.”

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Before flying out to Qatar, the top US diplomat said he hoped the US ally would keep up its Gaza mediation efforts, despite Israel carrying out air strikes against Hamas leaders gathered in the Gulf country last week to consider a US truce proposal.

“We want them to know that if there’s any country in the world that could help end this through a negotiation, it’s Qatar,” Rubio said.

Rubio’s visit came a week before France was set to lead a UN summit in which several Western governments, angered by what they see as Israeli intransigence, plan to recognise a Palestinian state.

Rubio called statehood recognition “largely symbolic”, while Netanyahu — whose government is fervently opposed to such a move — said his country may take unspecified “unilateral steps” in response.

The October 2023 attack by Hamas resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed at least 64,964 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the territory’s health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.

AFP