Israeli Ground Forces Move Into Gaza City, Sowing Chaos

The Israeli military launched a long-threatened ground assault to take over Gaza City after a night of intense bombing, sending many residents fleeing on Tuesday from the devastated but still densely populated urban area that is home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

The ground operation and the intensifying bombardment deepened the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, which has been shattered by a nearly two-year war that has killed tens of thousands of people and caused rampant hunger. Palestinians in Gaza City described scenes of panic as Israel pounded the area with heavy airstrikes that shook the ground. Local health officials said that more than 20 people had been killed and dozens more wounded.

“We are all terrified,” said Montaser Bahja, a former schoolteacher sheltering in an apartment in western Gaza City near the coast. “Death would be more merciful than what we’re living through.”

Israel said the ground operation, which had been building up for weeks, was necessary to free the remaining hostages seized in the Hamas-led 2023 raid that started the war and to prevent the militants from regrouping and planning future attacks.

But its latest ground operation fueled more international criticism of its conduct in the war.

After stepping up airstrikes in recent days, the Israeli military said on Tuesday that soldiers from three divisions of active duty and reserve troops had begun “expanded ground operations” in Gaza City.

In the coming days, additional troops are expected to gradually advance into the city, an Israeli military official said at a briefing with reporters on Tuesday, asserting that at least 2,000 Hamas militants remained there.

An Israeli military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, said the operation would “last as long as necessary” to free the hostages and defeat Hamas, estimating that it would take “a number of months.”

Mr. Netanyahu said in a video statement on Tuesday evening that Israeli forces were operating in Gaza City to defeat Hamas and to hasten the departure of the remaining residents.

“We are making efforts at the moment to open additional routes to facilitate a quicker evacuation of the Gaza population and to separate them from those terrorists we want to attack,” he said.

The Israeli military said 350,000 Gaza City residents had heeded previous evacuation orders. But roughly half a million people are believed to still be sheltering in the city, parts of which have been leveled by airstrikes. The Israeli military warned those remaining on Tuesday to leave immediately.

Many did, walking along dusty roads next to trucks loaded with mattresses and tents. But others said they simply could not afford to flee.

“I don’t have anywhere to go in southern Gaza — no house, no tent, no car in which to travel,” said Mr. Bahja, the former schoolteacher. “They’re not fighting Hamas. They’re fighting all of us civilians.”

It was unclear how far Israeli forces had advanced into the city. Satellite imagery on Tuesday morning showed Israeli armored vehicles on nearly all sides of Gaza City. Israeli military analysts said the troops were expected to move slowly, in part out of fear they could accidentally strike hostages.

The Israeli government signed off on the plan to take over Gaza City in August, when Israeli forces were operating on the city’s outskirts. By the end of the month, much of Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood had been razed to the ground. Since then, Israeli military strikes have destroyed high-rise buildings that the military said Hamas was using for surveillance and other activities. Hamas has denied the claims.

The Israeli defense minister, Israel Katz, said the military was carrying out the incursion at “the most significant test point” in the campaign to defeat Hamas. “The greater the intensity of the attack here, the more directly it will overwhelm Hamas,” he said in a statement, “and it will also create greater leverage for the release of the hostages.”

Hamas condemned the ground operation, saying it would worsen the humanitarian catastrophe engulfing Gaza. In a statement, the militant group called on the international community to intervene against Israel and stop the new offensive, which it accused the United States of enabling.

“There is no other place to be,” said one of the protesters, Michael Gilad, 53. “But we aren’t of interest to this government. Nor are the hostages or the soldiers.”

The operation led to further international condemnation of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza. Britain’s foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, called it “utterly reckless and appalling.”

“It will only bring more bloodshed, kill more innocent civilians and endanger the remaining hostages,” Ms. Cooper said in a post on social media, in which she reiterated calls for a cease-fire, for the hostages in Gaza to be released and for aid to enter the territory without restrictions.

Germany, which has been a staunch supporter of Israel, also criticized the assault, with the country’s foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, saying the country was on “the wrong path.”

“We reject this, and have made this clear to the Israeli government,” he said at a news conference in Berlin.

Abu Bakr Bashir, Ameera Harouda, Ephrat Livni, Natan Odenheimer, Lynsey Chutel, Talya Minsberg, Josh Holder and Samuel Granados contributed reporting.