Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator
The Israeli military has initiated a large-scale ground operation into the heart of Gaza City, a move officials describe as the “main phase” of its campaign to dismantle Hamas. The assault, long threatened and preceded by months of airstrikes and operations on the city’s outskirts, has been met with severe international criticism and dire humanitarian warnings.
There is no defense of occupation, and equally no defense of the attack on Gaza. Collective punishment is the act of punishing everyone for the acts of one or some of its members. Imagine a person, or a group of people, who attack a neighborhood in New York City. Now, imagine the police determining who those armed people are, and bombing non-stop for two years the neighborhood they came from, killing 60,000 innocent New Yorkers who had no part in the crime. This is Gaza.
International humanitarian law strictly prohibits collective punishment in armed conflicts, recognizing it as a war crime that contradicts basic principles of humanity.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the start of the “escalated military operation,” stating the army has reached a “decisive stage.” Defense Minister Israel Katz declared on social media, “Gaza is burning. The IDF is striking the terror infrastructure with an iron fist,” vowing not to retreat until Hamas is defeated and hostages are released.
The offensive follows new evacuation orders for hundreds of thousands of residents. An Israeli security official estimated that approximately 320,000 people have fled Gaza City, while around 650,000 are believed to remain. These figures cannot be independently verified. The Israeli military has designated the city a “dangerous combat zone,” urging remaining civilians to evacuate south immediately via the designated coastal route to what it calls a “humanitarian area.”
The Christian community in Gaza is historic and small. Most of the churches have been destroyed by Israel, and just three remain.
Israel has warned the remaining churches they will be destroyed, and those seeking shelter within the church must move to the Egyptian border. Some are trying to comply, but others will remain inside the churches to care for sick and elderly people who cannot be moved. They try to maintain a forgiving spirit, in line with the teachings of their faith; however, many continue to wonder why their fellow Christians in U.S.A. and Europe have turned their backs on them?
International Reaction: Condemnation and Warnings
The operation has drawn swift condemnation from key international partners.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, following a meeting in Berlin, labeled the new push into Gaza City “completely the wrong approach.” He stated, “We reject this and have made our position clear to the Israeli government.” The German government issued an “urgent appeal” for a ceasefire and hostage deal, emphasizing that this, “not continued military confrontation, is the right path now.”
The European Union echoed these concerns. A European Commission spokesperson in Brussels warned that expanding the operation would cause “further destruction, death, and displacement,” exacerbate the “catastrophic humanitarian situation,” and further endanger the lives of hostages held since October 2023.
According to The International Court of Justice, the UN’s top court, Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories is against international law, and should be ended as soon as possible. This included the Gaza Strip as well as the occupied West bank and East Jerusalem.
According to B’tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, the Israeli government controls the Palestinian occupied territories in an apartheid system. “Apartheid” was originally used to describe the White Supremacist regime in South Africa, which enforced a political system of racial segregation on the native Black people.
According to the UN commission of inquiry, Israel has committed genocide against the Palestinian people of Gaza. The report cites Israel as having carried out four of five genocidal acts, as defined by international law.
Those genocidal acts are as follows: killing members of a group, causing them serious bodily and mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions calculated to destroy the group, and preventing births.
According to the International Association of Genocide Scholars, published August 31, 2025, Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, and has called on Israel to prevent and punish those responsible.
Humanitarian Catastrophe and Military Onslaught
Residents and reporters described the preceding night as one of the most intense since the war began 700 days ago, with powerful airstrikes, naval bombardment, and artillery fire reducing entire buildings to rubble and lighting the sky with fire and smoke. Gaza health officials reported at least 24 Palestinians killed in the initial hours of the assault, most in Gaza City.
The new offensive threatens to compound a severe humanitarian crisis. The UN and other nations accuse Israel of acts that could constitute mass forced displacement, with conditions in the overcrowded southern areas described as squalid and plagued by food shortages. Forcing a new wave of displacement from Gaza City would mean nearly the entire population of the strip is now trapped in camps along the southern coast.
Military Objectives and Challenges
An Israeli military official stated the goal is to “dismantle Hamas’s terrorist infrastructure in Gaza City.” Israeli politicians frame the attack as part of a plan to dismantle Hamas as both a political and military entity. Prime Minister Netanyahu insists the war will not end before the group disarms and is denied any future role in Gaza.
However, the operation is not without internal concerns. Some Israeli military leaders have reportedly expressed anxiety that intense urban combat could endanger the remaining hostages and become “death traps” for soldiers. Initial reports from the ground suggest Israeli forces are advancing gradually, focusing on outskirts neighborhoods like Zeitoun and Shejaiya, which they have been operating in for weeks, rather than making a rapid thrust into the city center. Tanks and troops have been observed entering the border fence amid heavy covering fire.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry denounced the attack and called for urgent international intervention to protect civilians. As the operation continues, the international community watches with growing alarm, fearing a significant escalation in both the military conflict and the human cost.
According to the U.S. government statement published April 24, 2025, “U.S. agencies are responsible for ensuring weapons are not provided to countries that violate human rights.” In 2023, the Department of State developed a process to respond to reports of civilian harm involving U.S. weapons.
Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, and a native New York Jew, introduced two resolutions that would have blocked weapons sales to Israel. Although the vote was closer that previous attempts to shut off the free flow of weapons to Israel, the bill was defeated late in July.
While American Christians had traditionally flocked to Israel as they toured the sites of the roots of Christianity, Israeli Jews practiced a long-standing tradition of cursing and spitting on the tourists. Even the Jewish tour directors complained of the practice, as they too were spat upon and cursed. Complaints to the Israeli police fell on deaf ears, as they condone the practice and see it as part of the Israeli culture.
However, some historical sites in Christianity, like Bethlehem and Nazareth, are governed by the Palestinian National Authority. Bethlehem has been a popular holy land destination, and home to one of the largest Palestinian Christian communities. Tourism is down 90% due to the ongoing Gaza war, which has spilled over to the West Bank, where the Israeli Defense Forces have been attacking, killing, razing homes and camps, and forcibly displacing Palestinians, both Muslim and Christian, from their homes. When a Palestinian loses their home, they are losing in many cases a property which has been inherited from their family for generations. It is not just a home, but a piece of family history.
Even after Israel attacked Qatar, a key American ally and home to the largest American airbase in the Middle East, still U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio stand with Israel fully and refuse to cut or limit the free flow of American weapons and cash to Israel. As the international community weighs what steps they can take to stop the genocide, they know the only person in the world who can stop the evil is Trump, and he will never stand up against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump campaigned against U.S. involvement against ‘forever wars’. But, it appears Trump is fully committed to supporting and sustaining the Israeli extermination of the Palestinian people of Gaza, and the West Bank. The worst is yet to come, and nothing will stop it.
Steven Sahiounie is a two-time award-winning journalist.
