Israel launched its long-awaited ground assault on Gaza City at dawn Tuesday, a day after securing U.S. backing despite growing global alarm.
According to a United Nations investigation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials were accused of inciting Israel to commit "genocide" in Palestinian land.
The UN rights chief called for a halt to the "carnage" after the attack was widely condemned.
As Israeli troops advanced forward into Gaza City, the major metropolitan center in the enclave, the IDF launched a massive assault on the city overnight.
"Last night, we transitioned into the next phase, the main phase of the plan for Gaza City... Forces have expanded ground activity into Hamas's main stronghold in Gaza, which is Gaza City,"
a military official told journalists.
"We are moving towards the centre" of Gaza City, he said.
He stated that the IDF had determined that between 2,000 and 3,000 Hamas militants were active in the region.
Gaza City was previously described as "on fire" by Defense Minister Israel Katz.
Approximately 40% of Gaza City's population has migrated to the southern part of the enclave, according to the military.
Witnesses told AFP of relentless bombing in Gaza City, much of which is already in ruins after nearly two years of Israeli strikes.
Only huge piles of rubble remained of a residential block in the north of the city hit by overnight bombing.
"Why kill children sleeping safely like that, turning them into body parts?"
said Abu Abd Zaquout.
"We pulled the children out in pieces."
US President Donald Trump accused Hamas of using hostages as human shields.
"I hear Hamas is trying to use the old human shield deal, and if they do that they're going to be in big trouble,"
he said.
Israel claimed to have attacked a military infrastructure facility of the Houthi-held Hodeida port in Yemen on Tuesday. The organization has been firing missiles at Israel since the war in Gaza began.
According to Gaza's civil defense service, Israeli fire killed at least 37 civilians on Tuesday.
According to Navi Pillay, the head of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI), which does not represent the global organization, "genocide is occurring in Gaza and is continuing to occur."
According to the investigators, the pattern of behavior by Israeli forces and specific remarks made by Israeli military and civilian authority "indicated that the genocidal acts were committed with intent to destroy... Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as a group."
Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were found to have "incited the commission of genocide" in the report's conclusion.
Israel demanded the "immediate abolition" of the COI and stated that it "categorically rejects this distorted and false report."
UN rights chief Volker Turk told AFP and Reuters that: "It's for the court to decide whether it's genocide or not, and we see the evidence mounting."
Britain claimed the attack on Gaza City would only result in "more bloodshed, kill more innocent civilians, and endanger the remaining hostages," while the European Union claimed it would exacerbate an already "catastrophic" humanitarian situation.
Despite the growing criticism, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday offered robust backing for the offensive as he met Netanyahu.
"We think we have a very short window of time in which a deal can happen. We don't have months anymore, and we probably have days and maybe a few weeks to go,"
he told reporters as he left Israel.
Rubio said a diplomatic solution in which Hamas demilitarized remained the US preference, although he added:
"Sometimes when you're dealing with a group of savages like Hamas, that's not possible, but we hope it can happen."
Before flying out to Qatar, the top US diplomat said he hoped the US ally would keep up its Gaza mediation efforts, despite Israel carrying out air strikes against Hamas leaders gathered in the Gulf country last week to consider a US truce proposal.
"We want them to know that if there's any country in the world that could help end this through a negotiation, it's Qatar,"
Rubio said.
A week prior to France hosting a UN session where a number of Western states, enraged by what they perceive to be Israeli stubbornness, want to recognize a Palestinian state, Rubio paid a visit.
Rubio described statehood recognition as "largely symbolic," while Netanyahu, whose administration strongly opposes the idea, stated that his nation might respond with "unilateral steps" that are not yet specific.
According to an AFP count of official numbers, 1,219 persons were killed in the October 2023 Hamas attack, the majority of whom were civilians.
According to a United Nations-validated health ministry in Gaza, at least 64,964 people, mostly civilians, have been killed as part of Israel's response in Gaza.
What humanitarian corridors are open to civilians?
The situation in Gaza City is extremely precarious at the moment, and there are very few reliable humanitarian corridors that are secure and permanent. However, there have been temporary corridors or other enacted safe passage, in certain cases, to allow for the movement of evacuating civilians or the flying in of humanitarian help.
Humanitarian corridors, or safe passage, refer to negotiated commitments between conflict parties. These commitments allow civilians and humanitarian workers to be temporarily and safely transported through a particular area. Humanitarian corridors can be used to evacuate civilians, deliver humanitarian assistance, and transport sick or injured persons.
Safe passage corridors are commonly limited by time, international law, and geography and generally require the consent and cooperation of the parties to the conflict.