Jerusalem: Israel has intensified its bombardment of Gaza City, striking deeper into residential zones and forcing thousands more Palestinians to flee, even as U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio landed in the region for high-stakes diplomacy. The escalation underscores the widening gap between military realities on the ground and international appeals for restraint.
Over the past 24 hours, Israeli fighter jets and artillery pounded targets in Gaza City’s eastern and northern neighborhoods. According to local officials, at least 30 residential blocks were reduced to rubble, leaving families displaced and scrambling for shelter. Israel’s military said the strikes were aimed at Hamas’s final strongholds, targeting tunnel networks, weapons caches, and sniper positions embedded in densely populated areas.
The humanitarian toll continues to climb. Gaza’s health ministry reported rising deaths from malnutrition and disease as food shortages deepen, adding to the casualties from relentless air raids. Aid groups warn that with nearly a million people still sheltering in the enclave, evacuation orders are almost impossible to follow, leaving civilians trapped in a tightening circle of bombardment.
Rubio’s visit comes at a critical moment. His agenda includes meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders, with discussions expected to focus on the release of hostages, the prospects for a ceasefire, and expanded humanitarian corridors. The U.S. envoy also plans to visit Jerusalem’s Western Wall, a symbolic gesture of solidarity. Yet the timing of his arrival coincided with an Israeli strike in Doha aimed at Hamas’s political leadership a move that has raised diplomatic tensions and sparked criticism from U.S. allies.
Meanwhile, Arab and Islamic nations are convening in Qatar for an emergency summit to coordinate their response to Israel’s offensive. Regional leaders have expressed alarm not only over the scale of the bombardment but also over Israel’s new settlement expansion plans in the occupied West Bank, which they warn could jeopardize the Abraham Accords and wider normalization efforts.
For Israel, the military campaign is framed as a decisive push to break Hamas’s grip on Gaza. But for many observers, the destruction in Gaza City risks crossing a humanitarian threshold that could unravel fragile diplomatic gains across the region. With Rubio now on the ground, the coming days will test whether Washington can exert meaningful influence on both the military calculus and the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza.