Israel launches ground offensive in Gaza City

Israel has launched a long-threatened ground offensive into Gaza City Sept. 16 as part of what it calls “Operation Gideon’s Chariots II,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced. 

The IDF said the campaign aims to push Israeli troops deeper into the city and will “expand in line with the current situational assessment.” 

Defense Minister Israel Katz declared on X that Israel would fight until Hamas was defeated and hostages were freed.

“Gaza is burning,” Katz wrote. “The IDF strikes with an iron fist at the terrorist infrastructure and IDF soldiers are fighting bravely to create the conditions for the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas. We will not relent and we will not go back - until the completion of the mission.”

Vatican News reported Sept. 16 that Pope Leo XIV spoke by phone with Father Gabriel Romanelli, pastor of Gaza’s only Catholic parish, and assured the community of his prayers. Fr. Romanelli told the Pope that Holy Family Church is sheltering about 450 people and continues to distribute food, water, and medicine despite the fighting, according to the report. 

As CatholicVote reported Aug. 26, Christian and clergy nuns had said they would remain in Gaza’s church compounds despite evacuation warnings in order to care for the elderly, disabled, women, and children sheltering there. 

On Sept. 15, Fr. Romanelli posted photos and a video on X that he said showed a priest tending to those inside the compound this month. 

The Sept. 16 offensive followed a week of Israeli airstrikes on more than 850 targets in Gaza City, which the military said killed hundreds of Hamas fighters and destroyed infrastructure meant to block an incursion, according to FOX News. The outlet reported that long lines of cars fled south along Gaza’s coastal road on Sept. 16 and others escaped on foot. 

Estimates of displacement differ. The IDF said about 350,000 residents — roughly one-third of Gaza City’s population — had fled, but a Sept. 15 United Nations estimate put the number around 220,000, FOX reported. 

On Sept. 9, Israeli aircraft dropped evacuation leaflets over Gaza City, warning Gazans to leave ahead of the advance. The offensive also comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Aug. 7 that Israel intends to seize temporary control of Gaza before handing governance to Arab forces, CatholicVote reported. 

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in Israel Sept. 15 and called the U.S.-Israeli relationship “very strong” in a statement the following day. 

Rubio wrote on X that the President “wants all the hostages out, all 48 of them, living and deceased. And he wants this conflict to end. That is our priority.”

According to Axios, two Israeli officials said that the Trump administration backs Israel’s ground offensive but wants the operation to conclude quickly. 

The outlet also said some of Israel’s top security chiefs, including IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, had urged Netanyahu not to proceed with the operation, warning it could endanger hostages and cause heavy casualties without dismantling Hamas. 

In a Sept. 15 Truth Social post, President Donald Trump warned Hamas not to harm any human hostages after reading a report “that Hamas has moved the hostages above ground to use them as human shields against Israel’s ground offensive.” 

“I hope the Leaders of Hamas know what they’re getting into if they do such a thing,” he wrote. “This is a human atrocity, the likes of which few people have ever seen before. Don’t let this happen or, ALL ‘BETS’ ARE OFF. RELEASE ALL HOSTAGES NOW!”