Gaza is going to be razed to the ground, an Israeli defence official has vowed as they warned it will be reduced to “a city of tents”.
The security official told Channel 13 News no buildings will remain in the region, saying, “Gaza will eventually turn into a city of tents.”
It comes as tens of thousands of Israeli troops have massed at the border with Gaza in what could presage a sweeping ground invasion of the strip.
Israeli military officials warned they had “created an iron wall of tanks, helicopters and aircraft” around Gaza as they continued to carry out strikes on the region from the air late on Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, the head of the Gaza Energy Authority warned that the region is set to run out of fuel within hours.
Jalal Ismail said Gaza’s sole power plant, which is now the only source of mains power there, will stop operating at 2pm local time (12pm BST) on Wednesday.
Israel has shut off water, fuel and electricity supplies to the strip in what it has called a “complete siege”.
Many of the hospitals in Gaza are already “at capacity”, according to one British-Palestinian surgeon who spoke to The Independent, with medical supplies running out.
At least 974 people have been killed in Gaza by Israel‘s retaliatory airstrikes, according to the latest updates, while roughly 5,000 have been wounded. More than 1,200 Israelis have been killed and over 2,700 injured.
