Israel has begun its invasion of Gaza City.

Now the Israel Defense Forces want to empty the city of its inhabitants.

"It risks leading to extensive forced displacement of the civilian population that cannot be reconciled with international law," says Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard (M) in a comment to TT.

Israel enters Gaza city: “More Palestinians will die”

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The Israeli army IDF has started the first phase of the invasion of Gaza city. A military operation that had been planned for a long time.

This is reported by the Reuters news agency.

On Wednesday, the country's Defense Minister Israel Katz reportedly approved plans to take control of Gaza.

On Wednesday evening, the IDF called on civilians to immediately evacuate the city.

According to Al Jazeera, many residents of Gaza City have received calls from the IDF urging them to evacuate the city and move towards southern Gaza.

These are hundreds of thousands of people who must leave the city if they do not want to end up in the firing line of the Israeli invasion.

Already checking areas

According to IDF spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin, the first phase of the attack has now begun.

He tells the Jerusalem Post that Israeli forces already control the outskirts of the city.

60,000 soldiers have already been called up to carry out the invasion.

An additional 20,000 reservists will also be called up in the near future, according to Defrin.

Earlier today, an Israeli military base in Khan Younis in southern Gaza was attacked.

The Times of Israel writes that a group of at least 18 Hamas terrorists attacked the base.

Three soldiers on the base were injured, one seriously.

10 of the attackers were killed, reports Times of Israel.

Ceasefire proposal on Monday

On Monday, Hamas sources told several news agencies that the terrorist group had agreed to the terms of a new ceasefire proposal in Gaza.

A Palestinian source stated that mediators had proposed an initial ceasefire of 60 days in exchange for the hostages being released in two stages.

“It is a framework to initiate negotiations on a permanent ceasefire,” the source said.

Israel has not responded to the proposal.

There are also big questions about whether Israel could even consider such a plan. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recently signaled that he is demanding that the entire hostage situation be released in one go.

Of the Israelis taken hostage in 2023, approximately 20 people are believed to still be alive in the Gaza Strip.

Foreign Minister critical

On Wednesday evening, Sweden's Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard (M) is critical of the new invasion.

"It risks leading to extensive forced displacement of the civilian population that cannot be reconciled with international law," she says in a written comment to TT, where she also reiterates the Swedish government's position that the territory of Gaza must not be changed, reduced or annexed.

French President Emmanuel Macron writes on X that the invasion will lead to"a catastrophe."

He further writes that an invasion risks leading to a larger war in the region.

Instead, the French president, who has been in contact with the leaders of Egypt and Jordan, advocates for an “international stabilization effort.”