Sawt Falasteen - Israel launches ground assault on Gaza City

A United Nations probe, meanwhile, charged Israel with committing "genocide" in the Palestinian territory and accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials of incitement.

During the night, the military unleashed a massive bombardment of Gaza City as Israeli troops moved deeper into the territory's largest urban hub.

"Last night, we transitioned into the next phase, the main phase of the plan for Gaza City... Forces have expanded ground activity into Hamas's main stronghold in Gaza, which is Gaza City," a military official told journalists.

"We are moving towards the centre" of Gaza City, he said. When asked whether troops had moved deeper into central Gaza City he replied: "Yes."

The military estimated there were "2,000-3,000 Hamas" militants operating in the area, he added.

Defence Minister Israel Katz said Gaza City was "on fire".

"The IDF (Israeli military) is striking terrorist infrastructure with an iron fist, and IDF soldiers are fighting bravely to create the necessary conditions for the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas," he said.

Witnesses told AFP of relentless bombing of Gaza City, much of which is already in ruins after nearly two years of Israeli strikes since the Hamas attacks of October 2023 that triggered the war.

"We can hear their screams," said 25-year-old resident Ahmed Ghazal.

Rubio offered robust backing for the offensive on Monday as he met Netanyahu, who has ordered the Israeli military to seize Gaza City.

Rubio told reporters as he left Israel: "We think we have a very short window of time in which a deal can happen. We don't have months anymore, and we probably have days and maybe a few weeks to go."

Rubio said a diplomatic solution in which Hamas demilitarises remained the US preference, although he added: "Sometimes when you're dealing with a group of savages like Hamas, that's not possible, but we hope it can happen."

Rubio, who met Monday in Jerusalem with families of hostages in Gaza, acknowledged that Hamas had leverage by holding them.

"If there were no hostages and no civilians in the way, this war would have ended a year and a half ago," he said at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport.

A group representing hostages' families said they were "terrified" for their loved ones after Netanyahu ordered the strikes.

"He is doing everything to ensure there is no deal and not to bring them back," they said in a statement.

- 'Genocide' -

The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI), which does not speak for the world body and has faced harsh Israeli criticism, found that "genocide is occurring in Gaza and is continuing to occur", commission chief Navi Pillay told AFP.

"The responsibility lies with the State of Israel."

The investigators said explicit statements by Israeli civilian and military authorities along with the pattern of Israeli forces' conduct "indicated that the genocidal acts were committed with intent to destroy... Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as a group".

The report concluded that Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and former defence minister Yoav Gallant have "incited the commission of genocide".

Israel said it "categorically rejects this distorted and false report" and called for the "immediate abolition" of the COI.

Before flying out to Qatar, Rubio said he hoped the US ally would keep up its Gaza mediation efforts, despite Israel carrying out air strikes against Hamas leaders gathered in the Gulf emirate last week to consider a US truce proposal.

"We want them to know that if there's any country in the world that could help end this through a negotiation, it's Qatar," Rubio said.

Gaza's civil defence agency said at least 27 people had been killed by Israeli fire on Tuesday.

Media restrictions in the territory and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.

- Ahead of statehood push -

Rubio's visit came a week before France will lead a UN summit in which a number of Western governments, angered by what they see as Israeli intransigence, plan to recognise a Palestinian state.

Rubio called statehood recognition "largely symbolic", while Netanyahu -- whose government is fervently opposed to such a move -- said his country may take unspecified "unilateral steps" in response.

The October 2023 attack by Hamas resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed at least 64,905 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the territory's health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.

O.Salim--SF-PST