JERUSALEM — The Israeli military began its ground offensive in Gaza City on Tuesday, slowly closing in on the Palestinian territory’s largest city in another escalation in the war. Thousands of people streamed out of the city in vehicles laden with their belongings, but hundreds of thousands more remain.

The conflict has already decimated much of the Gaza Strip and roiled the Middle East for nearly two years, and the new operation likely pushes any ceasefire farther out of reach. The military wouldn’t offer a timeline for the offensive, which it says aims to “destroy Hamas’ military infrastructure,” but Israeli media suggested it could take months.

The operation began the same day that independent experts commissioned by the United Nations’ Human Rights Council accused Israel of comm

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