Overview

• Tanks, infantry and sustained airstrikes opened the offensive overnight, with local and Israeli media counting 37 strikes in roughly 20 minutes and fighting reported in central districts including Al-Jalaa Street.
• The military says it now holds about 40% of Gaza City and warns securing and clearing the urban area could take several months, with the stated objectives to free hostages and dismantle Hamas.
• Palestinian casualty reports range from at least 62 in the first day to around 106 across the Strip, and hundreds of thousands have fled, as the UN warns of extreme hunger threatening roughly 640,000 people by month’s end.
• Israeli and media reports indicate Hamas has moved some hostages to surface locations to complicate the advance, President Trump warned Hamas against using human shields, and hostage families protested outside Netanyahu’s residence.
• U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Qatar remains the key mediator and that time for a deal is short, as a UN commission’s genocide allegation against Israel drew firm rejection from Israel and the U.S., and Italian leaders voiced concern while urging a ceasefire.