Israeli tanks surround Gaza City ahead of ground incursion as EU proposes sanctions amid global outcry

By Ibrahim Dahman Nadeen Ibrahim, Abeer Salman, Tim Lister, Lauren Izso and Thomas Bordeaux, CNN

(CNN) — Israeli tanks were stationed on the edge of Gaza City on Wednesday ahead of a planned ground operation into the enclave’s largest urban area, according to eyewitnesses and satellite imagery.

Amid the military build-up, tens of thousands of Palestinians continued to leave the city, which was estimated to have a total of about one million inhabitants – many of them already displaced multiple times – before Israel announced its plans for a ground incursion.

While the Israeli military announced Tuesday that the ground operation had begun, eyewitnesses and satellite images revealed that tanks had yet to enter the city.

Israel’s new operation comes in defiance of international condemnation and as the United Nations and others have warned that the assault will worsen an already dire humanitarian crisis, with parts of the Gaza officially declared under famine. On Tuesday, an independent UN inquiry concluded for the first time that Israel has committed genocide, which Israel denied.

Over the past 24 hours, 98 people were killed across Gaza, according to the Palestinian health ministry, bringing the death toll since the war began over 65,000 people.

The ministry doesn’t distinguish in its reporting between combatant and civilian deaths but has previously said that some 70% of casualties in Gaza have been women and children.

It’s unclear how many people still remain in Gaza City or where those who have left are heading, as much of southern Gaza is already overcrowded with the displaced.

Massive tent encampments throughout the city are still visible on satellite images, but more than 350,000 people have left, an Israeli military official told CNN on Tuesday, a figure which CNN cannot independently verify.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) posted on X Wednesday details of a new route that civilians should use to leave the city. It said movement would be permitted along Salah al-Din Street, the main north-south artery in the territory. In what appears to be an effort to accelerate the forced exodus from Gaza City, the IDF said the route would be open for 48 hours only, until Friday midday local time.

Thirty-year old Akram Abu Watfa told CNN said he and his family had slept in the streets of Sheikh Radwan, north of Gaza City, for three nights, until they found a truck to transport some of their belongings.

“We arrived in Deir al-Balah (in southern Gaza) on an empty plot of land and are trying to buy wood and tent supplies,” he said.

Tanks have yet to enter the city

Eyewitnesses told CNN Wednesday that Israeli tanks and troops are now gathered at the Sheikh Radwan Pond area, just north of Gaza City. Satellite imagery from Tuesday showed tanks had advanced towards Gaza City from previous positions but had not entered the city itself. Armored vehicles had moved about two kilometers (1.2 miles) from the direction of the Zikim Crossing on Gaza’s northern border with Israel.

The Israeli military has amassed two major groups of armored vehicles in Sheikh Radwan, to the north of Gaza City, according to the imagery, with additional detachments of armored vehicles stationed along roads that lead toward Israel.

The IDF says it has continued strikes against “Hamas positions” in Gaza City, including what it described as a weapons production facility that was hit Monday. It said Wednesday that air strikes and artillery fire had struck more than 150 targets throughout Gaza City in support of ground forces over the past 24 hours.

The Palestinian health ministry said that among places struck was Al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital in Gaza City the enclave’s only specialist hospital for children. The ministry said the upper floors of the hospital, where 80 children were being treated, were hit three times. It did not issue details of any casualties. CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment.

An NGO working in Gaza City, Medical Aid for Palestinians, said that emergency departments in the city’s hospitals were “overwhelmed with casualties and are working with severely depleted stocks of essential medicines and supplies.”

Global pressure builds

International anger at the Israeli operation in Gaza City continues to mount. The Chinese foreign ministry said Wednesday that it was strongly opposed to the offensive and urged Israel to halt its military operations in Gaza at once.

Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Canada also condemned the Israeli offensive, and the European Commission proposed new trade sanctions targeting Israel and far-right Israeli ministers in response to the ongoing campaign.

If the measures are approved by the European Union’s member states, the bloc’s free trade agreement with Israel will be partially suspended. Last week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the Commission would propose to “suspend trade concessions with Israel, sanction extremist ministers and violent settlers, and put bilateral support to Israel on hold.”

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said “the aim is not to punish Israel. The aim is to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.”

However, some member states have expressed reservations about such a sweeping move. The EU is Israel’s biggest trading partner, accounting for 32% of Israel’s total trade in goods based on 2024 data, according to the European Commission.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that Europe’s move was “morally and politically distorted,” adding that “moves against Israel will harm Europe’s own interests.”

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