Israel launched a massive new wave of airstrikes on Gaza City on Tuesday, as a UN human rights probe accused the country of committing “genocide” in its ongoing campaign against Hamas.
The latest escalation came as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio concluded a high-stakes visit to Israel, where he expressed strong support for the military offensive while warning that time for a diplomatic solution was running out.
Heavy Bombardment and Hostage Concerns
Witnesses reported relentless overnight strikes on Gaza City, the densely populated urban hub of the blockaded strip, much of which has already been reduced to rubble after nearly two years of conflict since Hamas’s October 2023 attacks triggered the war.
Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz declared Gaza City was “on fire,” adding that Israeli troops were “striking terrorist infrastructure with an iron fist” and would continue operations until Hamas was defeated and hostages were released.
“We will not relent and we will not back down until the mission is accomplished,” Katz said in a statement.
Gaza’s civil defence agency said at least 17 people were killed on Tuesday, though the number is expected to rise as airstrikes continued across the city and in southern Khan Yunis.
The hostages’ families expressed fear for their loved ones’ safety following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s order for intensified strikes. “He is doing everything to ensure there is no deal and not to bring them back,” the families’ group said in a statement.
Rubio, speaking at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport before departing for Qatar, acknowledged that Hamas’s hostage-taking gave it leverage but insisted that Israel had the right to act. “If there were no hostages and no civilians in the way, this war would have ended a year and a half ago,” he said.
UN Commission Says Genocide Is Ongoing
In Geneva, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI) released a damning report accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza with “the intent to destroy Palestinians as a group.”
Commission chair Navi Pillay, a former UN human rights chief and South African judge, said Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, and former defence minister Yoav Gallant, had made statements amounting to incitement to genocide.
“The responsibility lies with the State of Israel,” Pillay told AFP.
The report cited Israeli air and ground operations, as well as statements by top officials, as evidence that the campaign sought not just to defeat Hamas militarily but to eradicate Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel responded angrily, calling the report “distorted and false” and demanding the immediate disbanding of the COI. Israeli officials argue that the military campaign is a legitimate response to Hamas’s October 2023 assault, which killed 1,219 people, mostly civilians.
Diplomatic Stakes Rising
Rubio’s visit comes just a week before France is set to host a UN summit where several Western governments are expected to recognise a Palestinian state — a move Netanyahu has strongly opposed.
The US diplomat called such recognition “largely symbolic” but said Washington still prefers a negotiated solution in which Hamas is disarmed. “We think we have a very short window of time in which a deal can happen,” Rubio said. “We don’t have months anymore — we probably have days and maybe a few weeks to go.”
Despite Israel’s strikes against Hamas leaders meeting in Qatar last week, Rubio urged Doha to continue mediating for a ceasefire and hostage deal. “If there’s any country in the world that could help end this through a negotiation, it’s Qatar,” he said.
Humanitarian Toll
The Gaza Health Ministry, which the UN regards as a credible source, reports that Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 64,905 people — mostly civilians — since 2023. With Tuesday’s renewed bombardments, humanitarian groups warn that the already dire situation could become catastrophic.
Media access to Gaza remains limited, making independent verification of casualty figures difficult.
The international community is watching closely as the conflict moves into what many analysts fear may be its most destructive phase yet, with the risk of a full-scale ground operation looming.
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