Trump invites Netanyahu to White House as Israel pummels Gaza City
Trump invites Netanyahu to White House as Israel pummels Gaza City
Israel deepened its ground assault on Gaza City amid further signs of full-throttle US support for the attack that experts say amounts to genocide.
At least 91 Palestinians were killed by Israeli attacks since dawn on Tuesday, as tens of thousands of Palestinians continued to be forcibly displaced by the Israeli onslaught.
There is no sign of US pressure to end the assault; in fact, the opposite is true. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Trump had invited him to the White House in two weeks, after both men address the United Nations General Assembly in New York this month.
The offensive comes as the region is still in shock over an Israeli attack on Qatar last week.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested alongside Netanyahu on Monday that a diplomatic pathway to end the war was closed - for now - saying that the US was “not counting on” a ceasefire.
Meanwhile, Trump on Tuesday again levelled blame at Hamas, referencing a longtime Israeli talking point that Hamas was using captives as “human shields”, adding, “if they (Hamas) do that, they are in big trouble”.
Israel has enjoyed unparalleled support from the Trump administration, despite the censure from Arab and European states.
United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called the Israeli assault “horrendous” and an act of "systematic destruction”.
The UN’s top investigative body on Palestine and Israel ruled earlier on Tuesday that Israel is guilty of the crime of genocide in Gaza, in the most authoritative pronouncement to date, which will likely inform the International Court of Justice ruling on the matter.
The report concluded that Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant have "incited the commission of genocide".
Guterres also said that Israel did not appear interested in a ceasefire, and pointed to its attack on Qatar last week, where Israel bombed senior Hamas political officials as they were deliberating on a US and Israeli ceasefire proposal.
"So let's be clear: With the attack that took place in Qatar, it doesn't look that Israel is interested in a serious negotiation for a ceasefire and release of hostages," he said.
The European Union said the assault on Gaza City would worsen an already "catastrophic" humanitarian situation, while Britain said it would bring only "more bloodshed, kill more innocent civilians and endanger the remaining hostages".
France on Tuesday called Israel's attack on Gaza City a "destructive campaign, which no longer has any military logic" and called for it to resume negotiations.
'Gaza burning'
With ceasefire talks dead, Palestinians in Gaza City find themselves at the centre of Israel’s onslaught. The current offensive has seen ferocious air strikes combined with an on-the-ground assault.
The Israeli military said that three of its divisions - 98, 162 and 36 - are taking part in the launch of the ground manoeuvre, dubbed "Gideon's Chariots 2".
The deadly assault has been met with glee in Israel, as Defence Minister Israel Katz exclaimed that "Gaza [City] is burning."
"Over the past 24 hours, following extensive discussions with the political echelon, the IDF (military) has significantly expanded its operation in Gaza City," said Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir.
"We are operating deep in the area, combining ground troops, precision strikes, and high-quality intelligence. Our objective is to enhance the strikes on Hamas until its decisive defeat."
At least 1,890 people in Gaza City have been killed since last month when Israel honed in on the northern urban centre that is the last one where Israeli ground troops were not operating.
So far, the Israeli army has made claims that 40 percent of the city's residents have fled, estimating that around 600,000 people remain.
Meanwhile, the director general of health in Gaza said that nearly one million Palestinians remain steadfast in Gaza City, despite intense pressure from the Israeli army.
Palestinians on the ground have reported relentless Israeli bombing and only huge piles of rubble where residential towers once stood.
