JERUSALEM, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- Israeli soldiers and tanks pressed into Gaza City on Wednesday, striking the city and demolishing multi-story buildings, Israeli officials said, as the Palestinian death toll in the nearly two-year-old offensive surpassed 65,000.
Gaza's health authorities reported at least 98 people were killed by Israeli fire in the past 24 hours and 385 others wounded, bringing the total death toll in the enclave to 65,062, with 165,697 injured.
The Israeli military said its air force and artillery struck Gaza City more than 150 times over the past two days before ground troops began advancing on Tuesday. Israel has carried out multiple air and ground attacks in Gaza City, but the military said Hamas has regrouped and thousands of militants remain in the city.
Video footage showed high-rise buildings reduced to rubble in areas hosting tent camps sheltering thousands of repeatedly displaced Palestinians.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said troops demolished 25 towers in Tuesday's opening assault to "remove any sniper threat above the maneuvering forces." He added: "If Hamas does not release the hostages and disarm itself, Gaza will be destroyed and will become a tombstone."
Katz repeated a call for residents to evacuate south "for their own protection." Israeli officials estimate 350,000 people have fled the city, while the UN humanitarian agency OCHA said monitoring partners observed "more than 190,000" people moving south between mid-August and Monday.
Separately, pro-settlement Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said a plan presented to U.S. President Donald Trump envisions turning Gaza into a "real estate bonanza." Speaking at a real estate conference in Eilat, he said he had begun discussions with U.S. officials on a business plan for the Gaza Strip, stating: "We paid a lot of money for the war, so we need to decide how to divide the profits from the land in Gaza. We've done the demolition stage, now it's time to build."
The proposal drew sharp international criticism, echoing earlier suggestions by Trump to clear Palestinians from Gaza and develop the strip as a seaside resort. ■
