Israel Begins its Invasion of Gaza City

0:00Today on State of the World, Israel begins its invasion of Gaza City. You're listening to State of the World from NPR. We bring you the day's most vital international stories, up close, where they're happening. It's Tuesday, September 2nd. I'm Greg Dixon. Israel's military has begun a push into Gaza City, the last major urban area in Gaza not occupied by Israel, and where a majority of the territory's civilians now live. Israel has stepped up its bombings, called up reservists ahead of an expected ground offensive, and canceled the daily pause in fighting meant to allow humanitarian aid into the city.

0:42The campaign will likely forcibly displace nearly one million Palestinians to the south, a mass evacuation the International Committee for the Red Cross calls incomprehensible. For many in Gaza City, the moment to flee has already arrived. But with the vast majority of Gaza declared off-limits by Israel, where are refugees able to go? NPR's Aya Batraoui in Dubai and Anas Baba in Gaza City have this report. And just a heads up, you're going to hear the sound of explosions in this story.

1:18It's the middle of the night in Gaza City, but Israeli troops do not rest. A surveillance drone roams the sky as tanks fire at homes and buildings here.

1:31This is what it sounds like in an area of Gaza City where Israeli soldiers are advancing. They're encircling this coastal city from the north, east, and south, blasting their way through street by street.

1:50On Friday, Israel's military declared all of Gaza City a dangerous combat zone and said it was ending a daytime pause on attacks meant to bring food to the city, where experts on hunger have declared a famine. But Israeli attacks on the city had hardly subsided before that, and aid was only ever trickling in. Satellite images show entire neighborhoods of the city's east, flattened in recent weeks by the assault. And this past week, thousands more families fled Israeli fire and encroaching tanks in the city's north.

2:24NPR's reporter in Gaza City, Anas Baba, documented their arrival to his neighborhood, which itself is now being evacuated. In front of me, a father with his two children. He's sitting on the sidewalk, and he's sitting above all of his luggage. His tent, some food, and that's it. The father, Ibrahim Abu Humeidan, says they fled indiscriminate Israeli fire. This is his 17th or 18th time to be displaced in the war. He's lost exact count. Israel's military says every family relocating to southern Gaza will receive, quote, the most abundant humanitarian aid.

3:07Abu Humaidan says he's on the street now with his family, with no money to get south. And says they can't even afford food. Israel's government has the tacit backing of President Donald Trump for this Gaza city offensive, despite hundreds of former Israeli security officials saying it's time to end the war, and huge protests in Israel demanding a ceasefire that frees hostages held by Hamas. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right coalition, however, are determined to expand the war. Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich laid out that vision for Gaza. In public remarks just days ago, he said Hamas must be defeated and isolated from the population, that areas of Gaza be annexed by Israel, and the gates of Gaza opened for people to leave.

4:00And the minister said Israel should cut water and food off to those who remain in Gaza City so Israeli soldiers don't face a quote, well-fed enemy. Israel tried to forcibly evacuate the city before in the war, besieging it, but tens of thousands remained. The UN and aid groups say it's incomprehensible to expect everyone in Gaza City to leave and that nowhere is equipped to absorb them all. Half of Gaza's partially functioning hospitals are in Gaza City and the north. But Israel's military says the evacuation is, quote, inevitable. And it published a map telling Palestinians where to flee to, saying there's plenty of, quote, vast empty areas in southern Gaza.

4:40Yaakov Garb, an Israeli professor who used satellite imagery to analyze the military's map, says, A good portion of these designated open areas are in the areas that the army itself has designated for months now as no-go zones. as red areas. So how is the population supposed to navigate these competing designations? The UN says nearly 90 % of Gaza is now off-limits to Palestinians. And GARP says some of the other slivers of territory supposedly available are full of tents or are uninhabited because they're unsteady sand dunes. Mohamed Habouch, his wife and child, have just fled their Gaza city neighborhood of Safdawi under fire.

5:26He fears this assault on Gaza City is only the start of Smoltrich's bigger plan.

5:42They want to displace us and push us out of the territory, he says. Aya Batrawi and Pierre News Dubai with Anas Baba in Gaza City.

5:57That's the State of the World from NPR. Thanks for listening.