CAIRO, Aug 11 (Reuters): Palestinians reported the heaviest bombardments in weeks on Monday in areas east of Gaza City, just hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he expected to complete a new expanded offensive against Hamas "fairly quickly".
An airstrike also killed six journalists including prominent Al Jazeera correspondent Anas Al Sharif in a tent at Gaza City's Al Shifa Hospital compound, the deadliest strike against journalists during an Israeli campaign that has lasted more than 22 months.
Witnesses said Israeli tanks and planes pounded Sabra, Zeitoun, and Shejaia, three eastern suburbs of Gaza City in the north of the territory, on Monday, pushing many families westwards from their homes.
Some Gaza City residents said it was one of the worst nights in weeks, raising fears of military preparations for a deeper offensive into their city, which Hamas says is now sheltering about 1 million people after the displacement of residents from the enclave's northern edges.
The Israeli military said its forces fired artillery at Hamas militants in the area. There was no sign on the ground of forces moving deeper into Gaza City as part of the newly approved Israeli offensive, which was not expected to begin in the coming weeks.
"It sounded like the war was restarting," said Amr Salah, 25. "Tanks fired shells at houses, and several houses were hit, and the planes carried out what we call fire rings, whereby several missiles landed on some roads in eastern Gaza," he told Reuters via a chat app.
The Israeli military said its forces on Sunday dismantled a launch site east of Gaza City, which Hamas used to fire rockets towards Israeli communities across the border.
Netanyahu on Sunday said he had instructed the Israeli military to speed up its plans for the new offensive.
"I want to end the war as quickly as possible, and that is why I have instructed the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) to shorten the schedule for seizing control of Gaza City," he said.
Netanyahu said the new offensive would focus on Gaza City, which he described as Hamas' "capital of terrorism". He also indicated that the coastal area of central Gaza may be next, saying Hamas militants have been pushed there too.
The new plans have raised alarm abroad, with French President Emmanuel Macron saying on Monday they heralded "a disaster of unprecedented gravity" and "a move towards a never-ending war".
On Friday, Germany, a key European ally, announced it would halt exports of military equipment to Israel that could be used in Gaza. Britain and other European allies urged Israel to reconsider its decision to escalate the Gaza military campaign.
Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, told Reuters that some countries appeared to be putting pressure on Israel rather than on Hamas, whose deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, ignited the war.
Israel's planned offensive coincides with worsening hunger in Gaza.
On Monday, the territory's health ministry said five more people had died of malnutrition and starvation in Gaza in the past 24 hours. That raised the number of deaths from such causes to 222, including 101 children, since the war began, the ministry said.
Israel says it has scaled up the entry of aid and commercial goods into Gaza in past weeks. Palestinian and U.N. officials say the aid is a fraction of what Gaza needs.
Photo from Reuters
