Satellite images published Monday revealed growing displacement in Gaza as Israel intensified airstrikes on high-rise buildings and prepared for a ground offensive aimed at seizing Gaza City.
The images, released by the U.S.-based company Planet Labs and published by the BBC, show the disappearance of tent encampments inside Gaza City between Sept. 9 and 15. Other images, taken between Sept. 5 and 12, indicate the establishment of new tent areas for displaced residents in a designated “humanitarian zone” south of the city.
Meanwhile, the IDF said it continued to target high-rise buildings used by Hamas. On Monday afternoon, Southern Command led an airstrike on a tower where the terrorist group had installed intelligence-gathering equipment and observation posts to monitor Israeli troop movements.
The army said precautions were taken before the strike to minimize civilian casualties, including warnings to residents, the use of precision munitions, aerial surveillance and intelligence gathering. “The terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip systematically violate international law, brutally exploiting civilian infrastructure and the Gazan population as human shields for terrorist activities,” the IDF said in a statement.
Hundreds of tanks, armored personnel carriers and bulldozers are massed along Gaza’s perimeter ahead of what the military has dubbed Operation Gideon’s Chariots II. The ground maneuver, expected to begin in the coming days, will focus on pushing into Gaza City from multiple directions.
An Israeli airstrike on a high-rise building used by terrorist groups in Gaza City
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Gaza City high-raise building struck by IDF after being repurposed for terrorist activity by Hamas
(Illustration: IDF)
Despite evacuation orders, the military estimates that about two-thirds of Gaza City’s residents have yet to leave. So far, about 300,000 Palestinians have fled southward, with more expected to follow as Israeli armored units enter western neighborhoods.
Regular army battalions are concentrated on the outskirts, with units already operating in areas such as the Zeitoun neighborhood to the south and Sheikh Radwan neighborhood to the north to clear the way for advancing brigades.
Military officials said the presence of civilians would not delay the ground operation, though troops are expected to advance cautiously. They anticipate that, as in earlier phases of the war, civilians will be seen fleeing southward carrying white flags. The army is also preparing for the possibility that Hamas will attempt to use evacuation corridors to carry out attacks on Israeli soldiers.