Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday Gaza "is burning" as Israeli forces were "striking with an iron fist," apparently at the launch of a long-anticipated offensive to seize Gaza City.
Israel's military says it controls about 75 percent of Gaza. Most of its population of about 2 million has been displaced multiple times in the past 22 months, following Hamas' October 7, 2023, attacks that claimed the lives of about 1,200 people, most of them civilians.
Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza since then has killed more than 64,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in the enclave, who warn that famine is setting in.
"Gaza is burning. The IDF is striking with an iron fist at the terror infrastructure, and IDF soldiers are fighting bravely to create the conditions for the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas," Katz said in a post on X, originally in Hebrew, referring to the Israel Defense Forces.
"We will not relent and we will not turn back -- until the mission is completed," Katz said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel needs to cripple Hamas' capabilities in the city to avoid a repeat of the October 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war.
Israel declared Gaza's largest city a combat zone on August 29 and has since urged residents to leave.
Israel announced on August 8 a plan to take over Gaza City, and eventually implement "Israeli security control" of the entire Gaza Strip, drawing widespread criticism, including from some Western governments.
Foreign ministers from the U.K., Germany, Italy, New Zealand and Australia released a joint statement rejecting the plan, saying it would "aggravate" the already "catastrophic" situation in Gaza.
Katz issued a stark warning to Hamas on August 22, threatening to turn Gaza City "into Rafah and Beit Hanoun," meaning leaving it in ruins, unless Hamas agrees to Israel's conditions for ending the war.
Gaza City is in the north of the 26-mile coastal enclave and has been devastated by Israeli military strikes over the past 22 months. At least 50,000 reservists are to be called up for the operation, bringing the total troop strength to 120,000.
The Israeli military plan for its offensive to take over Gaza City will focus on "terror infrastructure," in particular a tunnel network, and securing the release of all hostages, an Israeli military official said in mid-August.