We fled with nothing, says Gazan as Israeli troops enter Gaza City

Israel launched its offensive in Gaza City on Tuesday, threatening to overwhelm a city already in ruins from nearly two years of raids and bombardment. Vehicles strapped with mattresses and other belongings clogged a coastal road as thousands of Palestinians fled, but hundreds of thousands more remain.

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The operation into the largest Palestinian city further escalates a conflict that has roiled the Middle East and likely pushes any ceasefire farther out of reach. The military wouldn't offer a timeline for the offensive, which it says aims to “destroy Hamas’ military infrastructure,” but Israeli media suggested it could take months.

It began the same day that independent experts commissioned by the United Nations’ Human Rights Council accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. Israel rejected the allegation, calling the report “distorted and false.”

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared that “Gaza is burning” as the operation began. Heavy bombardment battered the city overnight and into the morning.

One woman, Saud Al-Sakani, said her daughter, son-in-law and their children were killed in a strike that flattened their home with about 40 people inside. “An entire family!” she cried, weeping over their bodies at Shifa Hospital's morgue. “Many are still under the rubble.”

On a brief visit to the region, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that there was a “very short window of time in which a deal can happen” to end the war.