Israel ramped up its offensive in Gaza on Monday, with new displacement orders sending tens of thousands of people fleeing the north of the devastated territory and waves of airstrikes killing about 60 Palestinians, according to local officials and medical staff.
The violence in Gaza came as a senior adviser to Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, was due to arrive in Washington for talks on a new ceasefire. An Israeli government spokesperson told reporters that Netanyahu was working to end the war in Gaza “as soon as possible” through the release of the hostages, of whom more than half are thought to be dead, and the defeat of Hamas.
The new “evacuation orders” warned of impending assaults around densely populated Gaza City and told Palestinians to head south to overcrowded coastal zones, where there are few facilities and limited water. About 80 percent of Gaza is now covered by such orders or controlled by the Israel Defense Forces.
Israeli tanks and infantry pushed into the Zeitoun neighborhood on the eastern edge of Gaza City and shelled several areas in the north, while aircraft bombed at least four schools after ordering hundreds of families sheltering inside to leave, residents said. That afternoon, an airstrike hit a crowded cafe on the shore in Gaza City, killing at least 22 people, including women, children and a local journalist.
Throughout the conflict, Israeli attacks have intensified at significant moments in negotiations. Israeli officials have said one aim of Israel’s latest offensive, which was launched in May after the breakdown of a two-month ceasefire in March, was to seize territory that could later be given up during talks as a “bargaining chip”.
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