The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, stated on Tuesday that the occupation's expansion of its operation in Gaza City constitutes a "new chapter in the war of genocide and systematic ethnic cleansing" against the people of the Gaza Strip.

In an official press release, the movement noted that "these crimes, which have surpassed all international norms and laws, are being carried out with the overt political and military cover of the American administration."

It called on the international community to adopt responsible and decisive decisions and positions that are commensurate with the "scale of these massacres" and to force the occupation to end the war. Hamas also called upon Arab and Islamic nations, as well as the people of the world, to shoulder their historical, moral, and humanitarian responsibilities toward Gaza and its people. 

Concluding its statement, Hamas held Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for the lives of the captives still held in the Strip.

Israeli airstrikes ravage Gaza, killing dozens

Medical sources in Gaza reported that at least 17 Palestinians were martyred in intense Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City since the early hours of September 16.

Al Mayadeen’s correspondent in Gaza confirmed that the southern parts of Gaza City, specifically Tsl al-Hawa and the al-Zaytoun neighborhood, have come under heavy bombardment, while occupation forces detonated booby-trapped armored vehicles among residential homes near Birket Sheikh Radwan.

On September 15, Israeli fighter jets and artillery unleashed a barrage of strikes across Gaza City, flattening residential buildings, mosques, schools, and commercial sites. By 10 pm al-Quds time, local reports indicated that at least dozens of Palestinians had been killed and many others wounded as the bombardment continued into the night.

Among the deadliest attacks was a strike on two homes belonging to the Abu Leila and Abu Qinas families at the Abu Khousa junction on Al-Jalaa Street in Sheikh Radwan, where nine people were confirmed dead. Another four were killed when Israeli fire hit a gathering of civilians in the al-Karama area in the city’s north.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) warned on Sunday that the Gaza Strip is turning into a “wasteland” amid an intensifying Israeli genocide.

In a post on X, the agency said, “Gaza is being completely obliterated. It’s becoming a wasteland, and seems to become more and more unfit for human living.”

It added, “Children are starving. Families are forcibly displaced. People are terrified,” stressing that as the large-scale assault continues, “political will and decision-making is needed more than ever.”