A MART脥NEZ, HOST:
The Israeli military says it has begun the main phase of its long-planned ground offensive in Gaza City. NPR's Anas Baba was there recording sounds of Israeli bombardment last night.
(SOUNDBITE OF PLANE BUZZING)
MART脥NEZ: Israel says it will be gradually sending troops deeper into the city, where hundreds of thousands of people still live. This intensified offensive effort comes as Secretary of State Marco Rubio left Israel, warning that the window was closing fast on a diplomatic end of the war. And it also comes as the U.N. Human Rights Office says Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. NPR's Daniel Estrin is following all of this from Tel Aviv. Daniel, tell us all what the Israeli military says is happening in Gaza now.
DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE: Well, it says that overnight, Israel transitioned to what it calls the main phase of its planned ground offensive for Gaza City. Palestinians overnight in Gaza City reported intense artillery fire, Israel detonating empty army vehicles. But so far, we have not seen troops and tanks in the streets of the center of Gaza City yet. A military official told reporters this is going to be gradual and that troops have already been bombarding the periphery of the city for many weeks. Just in the last several days, it's been leveling tall buildings in Gaza City that the military says would endanger troops when they enter. The military says Gaza City is Hamas' main stronghold and that there are still Hamas tunnels underground there that have not yet been dismantled.
Israel estimates that its troops will encounter up to 3,000 Hamas fighters in the city when they enter, and Israel estimates about 40% of Gaza's city's residents have followed Israel's orders to flee to south Gaza. But that leaves the majority of the residents still there. They say the area Israel is sending them to is already overcrowded and without proper services. Some residents who fled south have actually returned to Gaza City, saying that there's no place for them to be there. There's one narrow road where people are fleeing the city - very congested. So all of this is complicating Israel's plans with this ground offensive, and there's a lot of concern about the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas. The mother of one hostage told Israeli media that she was told her son is being held above ground in Gaza City to serve as a human shield.
MART脥NEZ: Yeah. Now, what's the response from the United States been, especially considering that I mentioned that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has spent two days there?
ESTRIN: Yeah, he was at a press conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday, and he was pressed about Israel's Gaza City plans. And both he and Netanyahu made very similar comments about the fact that Hamas could end the war immediately by laying down its arms, releasing the 48 living and dead hostages it holds. And Rubio was pressed and asked if the U.S. does endorse Israel's plans to occupy Gaza City, and here's what he said.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MARCO RUBIO: It may require, ultimately, a concise military operation to eliminate them. We have to remember who we're dealing with here, and that is a group of people that have dedicated their lives to violence and barbarism.
ESTRIN: So Rubio there is appearing to greenlight Israel's offensive. The question is, will this be what he calls concise?
MART脥NEZ: Yeah, and this also comes as a report commissioned by the United Nations concluded Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Tell us more about that.
ESTRIN: The U.N. Human Rights Council commissioned an inquiry by independent experts - a team that was headed by the former U.N. rights chief. And this team looked at the scale of the war in Gaza - more than 64,000 people killed, according to Gaza health officials. And it found starvation was used by Israel as a weapon of war. It said these were acts to bring about the destruction of a people, and they said Israel intended to do it. And they pointed to Israeli officials using dehumanizing language about Palestinians. It does not have the power to take action, but prosecutors at the International Court of Justice could point to its conclusions. Israel called it a false and distorted report, and it alleged the authors of the report have made antisemitic remarks.
MART脥NEZ: All right, that's NPR's Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv. Daniel, thanks.
ESTRIN: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR鈥檚 programming is the audio record.
