Israeli ground troops advance on Gaza City as Palestinian death toll rises above 9,000

Israeli troops advanced toward Gaza City on Thursday, as the Palestinian death toll rose above 9,000.

After weeks of intense fighting with no sign of an end in sight, US and Arab mediators stepped up efforts to relieve Israel’s siege of the Hamas-ruled enclave and demanded that hostilities at least temporarily cease in order to provide aid to civilians.

The previous day, in response to an apparent agreement between the US, Egypt, Israel, and Qatar—which mediates with Hamas—hundreds of wounded and hundreds of Palestinians with foreign passports were able to leave Gaza for the first time, prompting US President Joe Biden to propose a humanitarian “pause.” There were dozens more on Thursday.

Israel did not immediately respond to Biden’s remarks, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously ruled out a cease-fire.

Arab countries, including those allied with the US and at peace with Israel, have expressed mounting unease with the war. Jordan recalled its ambassador from Israel and told Israel’s envoy to remain out of the country until there’s a halt to the war and the “humanitarian catastrophe” it is causing.

Over 3700 Palestinian children have been killed in 25 days of fighting, and bombings have driven more than half the territory’s 2.3 million people from their homes, while food, water and fuel run low.

After three weeks of heavy airstrikes that have destroyed entire neighborhoods, Israeli troops pushed into Gaza in greater numbers over the weekend.

The fifth and deadliest war in Gaza began on October 7, when Hamas launched a bloody rampage into Israel, killing hundreds of men, women, and children. 240 people were kidnapped.