Arab sources reported that IDF armored units advanced along several routes inside Gaza City, as part of Operation Gideon's Chariots.
The ground maneuvers came alongside continued Israeli Air Force strikes and artillery fire targeting terrorist infrastructure across the city. According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, 38 people were killed and 190 wounded in the past day throughout the Gaza Strip.
Amid the ongoing bombardments, movement of Palestinians southward continues. Israeli officials estimated this week that more than half a million Gazans have already left, but hundreds of thousands still remain in Gaza City, refusing to evacuate for various reasons.
A local woman described the difficulty of leaving. She said conditions in the southern Gaza Strip were catastrophic and unsafe, adding that she feared who might end up living beside her, since wanted terrorists could be hiding among the population there. She appealed to Israel to help her relocate to Jericho, where she has family.
According to the reports, armored vehicles advanced in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood and toward the Shati refugee camp. Palestinian outlets also published footage of armored vehicles north of the al-Shifa hospital complex. Other reports spoke of tanks seen opposite a former Red Crescent headquarters near the Jordanian hospital. Gazans documenting the advance debated whether they were seeing tanks or remotely operated armored vehicles.
In addition, residents told the Palestinian newspaper Al-Ayyam that Israeli forces advanced along the street leading to the main headquarters of UNRWA. They said this was in the heart of Gaza City.
Witnesses also described large numbers of Palestinians fleeing westward toward the coast.
