The Israeli regime is moving forward with a long-anticipated major ground invasion of Gaza City, but around one million Palestinians are resisting the occupying force’s attempts to forcibly displace them from their homeland.
Hebrew-language media reported that the ground offensive — code-named Gideon’s Chariots ll — was initially expected to begin after a mass evacuation of Gaza City but the Israeli military launched the aggression late on Tuesday by killing at least 16 Palestinians, including women and children, in heavy strikes on the city.
The Israeli regime said it had struck more than 150 targets in Gaza City since the onset of its ground assault, with thousands of Palestinians having been forced to flee down a single coastal road to the center of the Strip.
A massive column of Israeli tanks and armored vehicles storms into Gaza City as internationally wanted war criminal Netanyahu launches Operation Gideon’s Chariots II to occupy the Palestinian city.
— Palestine Highlights (@PalHighlight) September 16, 2025
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The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said Israeli forces also struck al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital in Gaza City late Tuesday night, hitting its upper floors three times in succession.
The facility is the only specialized children’s hospital in the Strip, treating 80 patients across oncology, dialysis, respiratory, and gastrointestinal care, including 12 critical cases.
Following the bombing, 40 patients and their families fled in fear, while another 40 remained alongside staff, as the ministry warned the attack is part of Israel’s systematic campaign to cripple Gaza’s health system.
Photos show the aftermath of Israeli strikes on the upper floors of the Rantisi Children's Hospital in Gaza City.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that the"powerful operation" had been launched against the "last major stronghold" of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas despite sharp criticism from the international community and rights organizations.
The regime’s onslaught came hours after US State Secretary Marco Rubio’s visit to the occupied territories and expressing Washington's unwavering commitment to the genocide of Palestinians.
The Gaza Government Media Office announced on Tuesday that about one million Palestinians in Gaza City and northern Gaza are refusing or are unable to be forcibly displaced to overcrowded “safe zones” in southern Gaza.
“More than one million Palestinians remain rooted in Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip, holding onto their land and homes, and categorically rejecting displacement to the south, despite the savage bombardment and genocidal war carried out by the Israeli occupation,” Palestinian officials said.
The statement highlighted that the population of Gaza City and northern Gaza “exceeds 1.3 million people,” most of whom have already been displaced from their neighborhoods to central and coastal areas.
Hundreds of thousands flee Gaza City as Israel begins ground invasion to occupy it amid heavy bombardment
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Officials in Gaza also documented what they described as “reverse displacement,” with over 15,000 Palestinians returning “to their original areas in Gaza City as of Tuesday noon after initially moving belongings to the south for safekeeping, only to come back because of the complete absence of basic living conditions there.”
Local media cited Palestinians as saying that they cannot afford to go south, while others said southern and central Gaza are not safe as Israel has carried out airstrikes there too. Some also said they have attempted to go south but found no space to pitch their tents, so they returned.
Gaza officials emphasized that the al-Mawasi area in Khan Yunis and Rafah in the south of the strip currently host around 800,000 Palestinians living in harsh conditions.
Israeli officials refer to such areas as"safe humanitarian zones,” despite being targeted by more than 100 airstrikes over the past few months that have claimed the lives of at least 2,000 Palestinians.
The death toll from the occupation's aggression on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, has risen to 64,964 documented fatalities, in addition to 165,312 injuries.
Three deaths due to famine and malnutrition were recorded in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of fatalities as a result of malnutrition to 425, including 145 children.
