Tony Blair Attends White House Talks Amid Escalating Israeli Tank Presence Near Gaza City

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On Thursday, the Israeli military continued its operations near Gaza City, while US President Donald Trump held a meeting to discuss future plans for the battered Palestinian region.

Reports from US news outlet Axios and the BBC indicated that former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair was present at a late Wednesday meeting at the White House about post-war Gaza. Axios noted that Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, was also in attendance.

No specific information was released following the meeting, which Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, had previously announced would be a “large meeting”.

“We are developing a very comprehensive plan,” Witkoff mentioned on Fox News, without providing further specifics.

The US State Department said separately secretary of state Marco Rubio would meet Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar in Washington.

Israeli tanks edge closer to Gaza City

Late on Wednesday, Israeli tanks had pushed into a new area on the edge of Gaza City, destroying houses and prompting residents to flee, witnesses said.

Tanks entered the Ibad al-Rahman neighbourhood on the northern edge of Gaza City and shelled houses, 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 Ibad al-Rahman, 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 a ceasefire isn’t reached, tanks will be right outside our homes,” he conveyed to the Reuters news agency via a chat app from his residence on Jala Street in Gaza City, about 1km away from the Ibad al-Rahman neighborhood.

‘Evacuating Gaza City is inevitable’

Israel has said it is preparing to launch a new offensive in Gaza City, which it describes as Hamas’s 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 they were staying put, as leaving Gaza City and “trying to flee to the south would be nothing less than a death sentence”.

“Because of this, the clergy and nuns have chosen to stay and continue supporting everyone in the compounds,” stated a joint release from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Israeli military’s Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee said “evacuating Gaza City is inevitable” and Israel had started 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, in response to residents’ concerns over the 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.

At least 20 killed, including four-year-old

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.

The Israeli military said in a statement that its forces were operating in Jabalia and the outskirts of Gaza City to “dismantle terror infrastructure sites and eliminate terrorists”.

The statement mentioned the targeted killing of a senior Hamas official, Mahmoud Al-Aswad, on August 22, who held the position of head of general security intelligence for the West Gaza area. Hamas has not verified his death.

Israel has bombarded Gaza since Hamas’ October 7 attack in which more than 1,200 people, including an estimated 30 children, were killed and over 200 hostages taken, according to the Israeli government.

More than 62,000 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to the health ministry in Gaza.

The October 7 attack was a significant escalation in the long-standing conflict between Israel and Hamas.