Israeli tanks close in on Gaza City, Trump to chair meeting

Israeli tanks pushed into a new area on the edge of Gaza City overnight, destroying houses and prompting residents to flee, witnesses said, ahead of an expected meeting on the war to be chaired by US President Donald Trump today (27 August).

Tanks entered into the Ebad-Alrahman neighbourhood on the northern edge of Gaza City and shelled houses yesterday (26 August), wounding several people and forcing many others, who had been taken by surprise, to move deeper into Gaza's largest city, residents said.

"All of a sudden, we heard that the tanks pushed into Ebad-Alrahman, the sounds of explosions became louder, and louder, and we saw people escaping towards our area," said Saad Abed, 60, a former construction worker.

"If no truce is reached, we will see the tanks outside our homes," he told Reuters via a chat app from his house in Jala Street in Gaza City, around one kilometre (0.6 mile) from the Ebad-Alrahman neighbourhood.

Israel has said it is preparing to launch a new offensive in Gaza City, which it describes as Hamas' last bastion. Around half of the enclave's two million people are currently living there and Israel has said they will be told to evacuate.

Thousands have already left, but church leaders in the city said today they were staying put, as leaving Gaza City and "trying to flee to the south would be nothing less than a death sentence".

"For this reason, the clergy and nuns have decided to remain and continue to care for all those who will be in the compounds," a  joint statement by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Israeli military's Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee said "evacuating Gaza City is inevitable" and Israel had begun facilitating the entry of tents into the enclave.

"Before transitioning to the next phase in the war, I wish to confirm that there are vast empty areas in the southern Strip, just as is the case in the central camps and in Al-Mawasi. These areas are free of tents," he said, addressing residents' concerns over lack of space in central and southern areas.

Palestinian and United Nations officials said the Gaza Strip was in need of around 1.5 million new tents.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Tuesday that Trump would chair a meeting on Gaza at the White House on Wednesday and added that Washington expected Israel's war in the Palestinian territory to be settled by the end of the year.

The US State Department separately said Secretary of State Marco Rubio would meet Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar in Washington. It was unclear who would be present at the Trump meeting.

TANKS PULL BACK, BOMBARDMENTS CONTINUE

Israeli tanks retreated from the edge of Gaza City later on Wednesday to the Jabalia area, where they have been operating for months, although bombardments on three of the city's eastern suburbs - Shejaia, Zeitoun and Sabra - continued.

Gaza health authorities said Israeli fire had killed at least 20 people, including a four-year-old girl, across the enclave.