Live updates: Israel says it will take control of Gaza City, escalating war in the devastated enclave

The Foreign Ministers of Australia, Germany, Italy, New Zealand and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement on Friday that said they “strongly reject” Israel's decision to launch additional military operations in Gaza.

“It will aggravate the catastrophic humanitarian situation, endanger the lives of the hostages, and further risk the mass displacement of civilians,” the statement said, noting that Israel's plans could possibly violate international humanitarian law.

The only way to have peace between Israelis and Palestinians is through a “negotiated two-state solution,” the statement said.

The U.N. Security Council will hold an emergency meeting Saturday after Israel’s cabinet approved a plan for the military takeover of Gaza City. The rare weekend meeting was called for by the United Kingdom, Denmark, France, Greece and Slovenia, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

The U.K. and France were two of a growing group of countries condemning the move, including China, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the decision was simply “wrong” and urged Israel to reconsider it immediately.

A spokesperson for the office of the U.N. Secretary General said on Friday that the U.N. still has staff on the ground in Gaza City and there is currently no change in posture for the U.N. to announce. The U.N. resident coordinator is in touch with Israeli authorities to determine when Israeli plans may be carried out.

In Jordan, home to a large Palestinian population, news of Israel’s plans to take over Gaza City and expand its offensive in Gaza fueled outrage in the streets of downtown Amman.

“There’s no justification,” Hussam Mohammed said, sitting with his wife and three children outside and eating knafeh, a treasured traditional dessert. “They start with Gaza, but the next will be the West Bank,” Mohammed, 40, said.

In nearby shops, signs of support for Palestinians in Gaza abound, with magnets emblazoned with the words “save Palestine” for sale alongside pro-Palestinian art and jewelry.

One shop manager, Saed Hassan, who is half-Palestinian, said he had not been "feeling happy for two years," referring to the two years that have nearly passed since the war began.

“I swear, I’m feeling so bad,” he said, breaking down into tears at one point as he described his devastation at hearing the news of Israel’s plans to escalate its war in Gaza. “I cannot understand anything right now. I’m not watching the news.”

Some of Congress’ most pro-Israel Democrats are ramping up their criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a warning sign for the Israeli leader as he seeks to expand the Israeli military campaign inside Gaza.

In a statement on Thursday, Rep. Dan. Goldman, D-N.Y., accused Netanyahu of serving his own interests rather than those of his country, writing, “It is clear that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s personal and political interests are guiding Israel’s actions, rather than what is best for the Israeli people or for the nation of Israel. He is beholden to the extreme right, whose support he needs to remain in power, which, in turn, is helpful to defend against his corruption case.”

He is still critical of countries that are proposing recognizing a Palestinian state as a form of punishment toward Israel, arguing that would only serve as a reward to Hamas. 

Another staunchly pro-Israel Democrat, Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., issued a statement today after Netanyahu’s cabinet approved a plan to take control of Gaza City, calling the idea “tactically questionable and strategically self-defeating,” and warning it will “further unite much of the world against Israel.” 

Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour called Israel's plan to occupy all of Gaza "crazy, irresponsible, dangerous, vicious."

‘Crazy, irresponsible, dangerous’: Palestinian ambassador condemns Netanyahu’s plan

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The ambassador called for support from the international community and urged the U.N. Security Council to “shoulder its responsibilities.”

The United Arab Emirates conducted its 66th airdrop of humanitarian aid into Gaza today, according to the country's Ministry of Defense.

The mission, which was conducted in partnership with Jordan, Germany, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Italy, is part of Operation Birds of Charity and Gallant Knight 3, the ministry said.

"The participating aircraft included new shipments of food and humanitarian supplies destined for areas inaccessible by land, with the aim of providing urgent support to affected families in the Gaza Strip," the ministry said. "This brings the total amount of aid dropped to more than 3,873 tons, a clear demonstration of the UAE’s continued commitment to standing by the brotherly Palestinian people and strengthening international humanitarian efforts."

More countries have come forward to call out Israel for its plan to occupy the entire Gaza Strip.

Pakistan has condemned the plan, calling it "a dangerous escalation in an already catastrophic war," while the Netherlands and Denmark said it is "wrong."

“The plan of the Netanyahu government to intensify Israeli operations in Gaza is a wrong move," Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp said in a post on X. "The humanitarian situation is catastrophic and demands immediate improvement. This decision in no way contributes to this and will also not help to get the hostages home."

The first minister of Scotland, John Swinney, said Israel's decision on Gaza is "completely and utterly unacceptable."

U.N. Secretary General António Guterres is "gravely alarmed" by Israel's plan to occupy all of the Gaza Strip.

"This marks a dangerous escalation & risks deepening the already catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians," Guterres said on X, and in a statement shared by a spokesperson. "It could further endanger more lives, including of the remaining hostages."

Guterres warned that further escalation in Gaza could lead to "additional forced displacement, killings and massive destruction, compounding the unimaginable suffering of the Palestinian population in Gaza," according to the statement.

He also reiterated his calls for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, unimpeded humanitarian access across the enclave and the release of the hostages.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the nation's newly announced plan to take over Gaza City, saying: “We are not going to occupy Gaza — we are going to free Gaza from Hamas.”

“Gaza will be demilitarized, and a peaceful civilian administration will be established, one that is not the Palestinian Authority, not Hamas, and not any other terrorist organization,” he wrote on X late Friday. He claimed the plan will help free hostages. 

Israel’s announcement was denounced by countries across the globe. United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Türk called for Israel to “immediately halt” it’s plans to takeover the Gaza Strip, warning that further escalation will only result in “more massive forced displacement, more killing, more unbearable suffering, senseless destruction and atrocity crimes.”

Türk said instead of intensifying this war, the Israeli government “should put all its efforts into saving the lives of Gaza’s civilians by allowing the full, unfettered flow of humanitarian aid.”

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz justified in a statement the Cabinet's decision to occupy Gaza and said that the country "is determined to achieve the goals of the war."

The goals include "the complete defeat of Hamas, creating the conditions for the return of all the hostages, and ensuring the safety of Israeli communities through a strong and comprehensive security zone in Gaza," Katz said in the statement.

Katz said he's been authorized to approve the IDF's plans to escalate its war in Gaza, which it is already planning for today, adding that the condemnation Israel has received from countries around the world were not a concern.

"Countries around the world that condemn and threaten sanctions will not weaken our resolve. The days when Jews did not defend themselves are over," Katz said.

The Israeli prime minister's office today accused Germany of "rewarding Hamas terrorism" by "embargoing arms to Israel."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz this evening, expressing disappointment over Germany’s decision, the office said.

The office doubled down, saying Israel’s goal “is not to take over Gaza, but to free Gaza from Hamas and enable a peaceful government to be established there.”

Germany had announced the embargo after Israel said it plans to take over Gaza City, escalating its war with Hamas despite local and international outcry. The German government said it believed harsher military action in the strip will threaten further suffering of the civilian population and the release of hostages. 

Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement today strongly condemning Israel's plan to occupy the Gaza Strip.

The neighboring nation said Israel's aim with the plan is to "continue the war of extermination in Gaza, eliminate all elements of Palestinian life, undermine their right to self-determination and the establishment of their independent state, and liquidate the Palestinian cause."

Egypt said Israel's withholding of humanitarian aid to Gaza and killing of Palestinians "will only fuel the conflict, escalate tensions, deepen hatred, and spread extremism in the region."

It also called on the international community "to halt Israel’s policy of recklessness and arrogance of power."

"Egypt reiterates that there will be no security or stability for Israel or the region except through the establishment of a Palestinian state based on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital," the statement read.

In a statement, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned Israel's decision to reoccupy all of Gaza, calling it "a complete crime" that continues its "policy of genocide, systematic killing, starvation, and siege" in the enclave.

"These plans are in addition to the Israeli occupation forces’ ongoing settlement activities in the West Bank, annexation of Palestinian land, terrorizing settlers, attacks on Christian and Islamic holy sites and places of worship, confiscation of Palestinian funds, and undermining the establishment of Palestinian state institutions," the statement read. "These are crimes against humanity that threaten regional and international security and peace."

Abbas said the only way to end the war in Gaza is to allow the West Bank to take over its rule "as an integral part of the independent State of Palestine on the June 4, 1967, borders."

Israel has categorically rejected the idea of the Palestinian Authority taking over Gaza's rule. The Palestinian Authority, with the Fatah political party as its most important faction, has had a strained relationship with Hamas, leading to battles between the two in Gaza in 2006 after the latter won legislative elections in the enclave.

Yehuda Cohen, whose son Nimrod was taken hostage during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack, says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to take over the Gaza Strip puts his son and others in danger.

"It is endangering my son and other living hostages," Cohen said on the BBC World Service’s Newsday program. "It is endangering the hostages and prolonging their suffering."

Netanyahu “prefers the hostages dead because it will make it easier for him,” he said, adding, “once you convince everybody they are all dead, you can say we can go for brute force in the Gaza Strip.” 

Hamas and other militants took about 250 hostages during the Oct. 7 attack. Many have been swapped for Palestinian prisoners, but Israel believes about 20 of the 50 hostages remaining in Gaza are still alive. Last year, Hamas executed six hostages when Israeli forces neared where they were being held.

Since the attack Israel’s air and ground offensive since then has killed more than 61,000 people in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to local health officials.

The Red Cross Field Hospital in Rafah, a city in the southern Gaza Strip, has treated more than 4,500 patients wounded by weapons since May 27 — and a majority of them were injured while trying to reach food distribution sites, the International Committee of the Red Cross said today.

There have also been more than 30 mass casualty incidents received at the hospital since the opening of the food distribution sites, it said. 

“It is unacceptable that people are being injured and killed while simply trying to feed their families,” the aid organization warned in a statement. The group called for “a rapid and unimpeded” flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. 

“We cannot allow an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis to deteriorate further," it said. "Countless lives hang in the balance.” 

Israel upended the aid-distribution system in Gaza earlier this year. It gave strong support to the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which runs a handful of sites guarded by military contractors, whereas the earlier United Nations-dominated system distributed aid at hundreds of locations.

European Union President Ursula von der Leyen said today that Israel's decision to take over Gaza City and escalate its war in the enclave "must be reconsidered."

The E.U. president also reiterated the need for a ceasefire in Gaza.

"At the same time, there must be the release of all hostages, who are being held in inhumane conditions," von der Leyen said on X. "And humanitarian aid must be given immediate and unhindered access to Gaza to deliver what is urgently needed on the ground."

Von der Leyen's statement is a sign of the growing rift between Israel and its staunchest allies in Europe.

Belgium Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prévot has summoned the Israeli ambassador following the country's decision to take over Gaza City, warning the “continued colonization” of Palestinian territories is “unacceptable and contrary to international law.”

“The aim is clearly to express our total disapproval of this decision, but also of the continued colonization ... and the desire to annex the West Bank as was recently promoted by the Knesset,” Prévot wrote on X. (The Knesset is equivalent to the United States' House of Representatives.)

He warned Israel’s actions have the potential to “wipe Palestine completely off the map” and “pose a major risk to the Israeli hostages still being held.”

Saudi Arabia said it “condemns in the strongest and most severe terms” Israel’s decision to occupy the Gaza Strip. 

In a statement today, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs also denounced the “starvation, brutal practices, and ethic cleansing” of Palestinian people in Gaza.

The kingdom warned that the “continued failure” of the international community and United Nations Security Council to “halt Israeli aggressions and violations” threatens regional and global peace and “portends dire consequences” including genocide and forced displacement.

The kingdom also called for a two-state solution and establishing a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with east Jerusalem as its capital, which has been its longstanding position.

The government of Jordan condemned Israel's plans in the Gaza Strip, calling them an attempt to “entrench its occupation" of the Palestinian territory.

Sufyan Qudah, a spokesperson for Jordan's Foreign Ministry, said the plan was an "extension of the extremist Israeli government’s policy that uses starvation and siege as weapons against the Palestinian people, in addition to its deliberate and systematic targeting of civilian facilities, hospitals, and schools," according to the ministry.

In a statement, he called on the international community to "assume its legal and moral responsibilities" and intervene in Israel's offensive in Gaza and to "fulfill the Palestinian people’s rights to establish their independent state."

Israel and neighboring Jordan, where about 50 percent of the population is Palestinian, made peace in 1994 after fighting several wars.

Mediators from Egypt and Qatar are working on a new framework for negotiations to release all the hostages in Gaza, be it dead or alive, two Arab officials told The Associated Press.

The deal seeks in return an end to the war in Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, the officials said.

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Police in Tel Aviv last night sprayed water cannons and detained demonstrators calling for the end of the war and for the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas.

Officers were filmed ordering protesters to move back and pushing and detaining some of them. But demonstrators carried on chanting and holding up pictures of hostages.

The clashes escalated after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would take control over parts of Gaza, which advocacy groups say will endanger the remaining hostages held there.

A soccer star was killed as he waited for aid this morning, the Palestinian Football Association said in a statement today.

Suleiman al-Obeid, who was known as the “Pele of Palestinian football,” after the Brazilian soccer icon, “scored more than 100 goals” during his career, the association said.

The 41-year-old, who is survived by his wife and five children, was “one of the brightest stars in Palestinian football,” it said, adding that over 600 sportspeople have died during the conflict with Israel.

“The number of martyrs from the football association alone has reached 321, including players, coaches, administrators, referees, and club board members,” it added.

Germany said today it was suspending the export to Israel of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip, and called on Israel to improve the dire humanitarian conditions for civilians in the Palestinian enclave.

“Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas’ terror. The release of the hostages and purposeful negotiations on a ceasefire are our top priority,” German chancellor Friedrich Merz said in a statement released by his office. "The even harsher military action by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, approved by the Israeli Cabinet last night, makes it increasingly difficult, in the German government’s view, to achieve these goals."

“The German government remains deeply concerned about the ongoing suffering of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip," the unusually critical statement said, adding that the planned offensive would mean the Israeli government would be even more responsible for the humanitarian needs of the civilian population.

Hamas today condemned Israel’s plan in Gaza a “a war crime,” and blamed the U.S. for its military support.

The plan to occupy the Gaza City and displace all residents amounted to “ethnic cleansing,” the militant group said in a statement, adding that it showed a “reckless disregard” for the lives of the hostages held in Gaza.

The United States provided “political cover and direct military support” for Israel’s aggression, said Hamas, which planned and led the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel.

Hamas has itself been accused of war crimes for the surprise Oct. 7 attacks on Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people, saw 250 taken hostage and trigged the devastating war in Gaza. Some 50 hostages remain in the enclave, but only 20 are believed to be alive.

Britain’s government is “complicit in genocide,” Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader of the ruling Labour Party, said in a post today on X.

“If the government was truly horrified by Israel’s occupation of Gaza, it would stop supplying them with the weapons they need to carry it out,” said Corbyn, who preceded Prime Minister Keir Starmer as leader of the party.

The U.K. has licensed at least $672 million worth of military exports to Israel since 2015, including drones used for spying missions and in attacks on civilians, according to the Oxfam charity.

“The prime minister can condemn Israel’s plans all he wants,” said Corbyn, who was expelled from Labour Party last year and now sits as an independent MP.

Indonesia plans to convert a medical facility on an uninhabited island to treat about 2,000 residents in Gaza wounded by Israel, a presidential spokesperson said yesterday.

The Muslim-majority country previously sent medical aid and medical personnel to Gaza, with its president announcing in April that Indonesia will shelter refugees from the region temporarily.

Galang Island, which has housed asylum-seekers in the past, was chosen as the shelter for war-affected Palestinians and their families, spokesperson Hasan Nasbi told reporters at a briefing in the capital of Jakarta.

He said that the recovery program wouldn’t adversely affect Indonesian residents on other islands, stressing that the war victims will return to Gaza once they recover from injuries, according to Indonesian news agency Antara.

“This is not a relocation plan—this is a humanitarian operation,” he added.

Turkey condemned Israel’s ongoing military operations, describing them as part of an “expansionist and genocidal policy,” urging the international community to step in to stop Israel’s actions.

“The occupying state of Israel must immediately halt its war plans, accept a ceasefire in Gaza, and begin negotiations toward a two-state solution,” the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly accused Israel in public speeches, calling it a “pampered and desperate terrorist state.”

For decades, Turkey and Israel maintained friendly relations but these have grown more strained under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's AK Party.

Israeli police clashed with demonstrators in Tel Aviv overnight during a protest calling for the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and an end to the war.

The clashes escalated after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will take control over parts of Gaza, a move some say will endanger the remaining hostages.

Hundreds of people staged a demonstration in front of the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on Thursday. Saeed Qaq/ / Anadolu via Getty Images

Demonstrators demanded the immediate release of all hostages from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip and called for an end to the war in Gaza.  Ohad Zwigenberg / AP

Some held torches and pictures of hostages who remain in captivity.  Saeed Qaq / Anadolu via Getty Images

Israel's former defense minister called Netanyahu’s government as “slow” and “indecisive,” after the decision was announced to invade northern Gaza.

“Netanyahu has done nothing,” Benny Gantz said today in a X post. The former army general also accusing the government of failing to seize opportunities for a permanent ceasefire and the “decisive defeat of Hamas.”

Israeli officials have “wasted time and squandered military gains,” he said.

Israel's plan for a complete military takeover of Gaza violates an International Court of Justice ruling that Israel must end its occupation “as soon as possible,” the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said this morning.

“This further escalation will result in more massive forced displacement, more killing, more unbearable suffering, senseless destruction and atrocity crimes,” Volker Türk said in a news release. “The war in Gaza must end now. And Israelis and Palestinians must be allowed to live side by side in peace.”

Calling on both sides to work toward the agreed two-state solution, he added that Israel's government “should put all its efforts into saving the lives of Gaza’s civilians by allowing the full, unfettered flow of humanitarian aid.”

He also urged Palestinian armed groups to “immediately and unconditionally” release all the remaining hostages. Palestinians arbitrarily detained by Israel should also be freed, he added.

The Israeli cabinet’s approval to takeover Gaza means “abandoning the hostages,” leading to a “colossal catastrophe” for the country’s captives and soldiers, an advocacy group said today.

Fifty hostages remain in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive, according to the latest Israeli government data.

“By choosing military escalation over negotiation, we are leaving our loved ones at the mercy of Hamas — an evil terrorist organization that systematically starves and abuses the hostages,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters said in a statement.

“The only way to bring the hostages home is through a comprehensive deal,” it added, urging the Israeli public to stop the government in its “march of recklessness.”

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After Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces a plan to take over Gaza City, Tel Aviv residents expressed concern that it will endanger the hostages still held by Hamas.

One man said he thought it was a “death sentence,” for those who were still held captive.

Senior Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti condemned Israel’s plan to take control of Gaza City, accusing Netanyahu of pursuing the “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

“Netanyahu proved that he doesn’t care about Israeli captives, never wanted to reach a ceasefire agreement,” he said in a post on X, adding that Netanyahu was using the destruction of Hamas “as a cover for his intention to ethnically cleanse all the Palestinian people in Gaza.”

Barghouti said the Israeli cabinet decision amounted to “a declaration of a war crime of extermination, genocide, and ethnic cleansing.”

“Netanyahu wouldn’t have dared commit all these crimes without the support of the American administration,” he added.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned Israel’s decision to take control of Gaza City, urging the government to “step away from the path of destruction.”

“The Israeli Government’s decision to further escalate its offensive in Gaza is wrong, and we urge it to reconsider immediately,” he said in a statement. “This action will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict or to help secure the release of the hostages. It will only bring more bloodshed.”

He called for “a ceasefire, a surge in humanitarian aid, the release of all hostages by Hamas and a negotiated solution,” adding that Hamas “can play no part in the future of Gaza and must leave as well as disarm.”

Starmer said the U.K., which said last week that it would recognize a Palestinian state unless Israel agreed to an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, was working with its allies on a long-term plan for peace based on a two-state solution to secure “a brighter future for Palestinians and Israelis.”

Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005 in a plan under Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who cited security concerns among other reasons.

Sharon defended his plan as the only way to secure Israel’s future, saying in 2004, “This is a fateful moment for Israel.”

Settlements were dismantled and Israeli settlers were evacuated. The Israel Defense Forces completed its withdrawal at 7 a.m. on Sept. 12, 2005, in what was called “Operation Last Watch,” according to a U.N. situation report at the time.

Israeli troops advance against Egyptian troops at the start of the Six-Day War, in 1967 near Rafah, Gaza Strip. Micha Han / Getty Images file

Israel occupied the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, also known as the Six-Day War, and the 2005 withdrawal marked the first time that Israel pulled out from a territory it occupied in that conflict. There were protests on both sides of the withdrawal issue in Israel.

The expansion of Israeli military operations throughout Gaza could have “catastrophic consequences,” a U.N. official warned earlier this week, calling the possibility “deeply alarming.”

“This would risk catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians and could further endanger the lives of the remaining hostages in Gaza,” Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenča told a Security Council briefing on Tuesday.

The meeting was called by Israel to discuss the plight of the 50 hostages still being held in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive, amid global outrage after Hamas released images and videos of two emaciated hostages, Evaytar David and Rom Braslavsky. Jenča said scenes of David apparently being forced to dig his own grave were “appalling” and that the images of him and Braslavsky were “an affront to humanity itself.”

He said the only way to end the violence and humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is with a full and permanent ceasefire.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid slammed the country’s Cabinet decision to occupy Gaza City as a “disaster that will lead to many more disasters.”

The “pointless” Israeli occupation of Gaza will only lead to “deaths of the hostages, the killing of many soldiers, cost the Israeli taxpayer tens of billions, and result in diplomatic collapse,” Lapid said in an X post today.

Lapid accused Netanyahu and his far-right cabinet ministers of disregarding the “erosion and exhaustion” of Israeli forces.

“This is exactly what Hamas wanted: for Israel to get stuck on the ground without a goal, without defining the ‘day after’ vision, in a pointless occupation that no one understands where it is heading,” he added.

The Israeli announcement comes as the 2 million residents of Gaza are on the brink of famine, with images of emaciated children drawing international outrage after they appeared in media outlets around the world.

Palestinians carry a man who was injured while rushing to collect humanitarian aid in Gaza City yesterday. Jehad Alshrafi / AP

Finding food has become more difficult and deadly for Palestinians since an American and Israeli-backed organization, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, took over the aid distribution process in late May. Hundreds of people have been killed or injured in recent weeks as they sought to obtain limited humanitarian aid, including 20 who were killed yesterday, according to a spokesperson for the Gaza Health Ministry. 

The U.N. human rights office said yesterday that “nutrition partners report that acute malnutrition among children in Gaza has reached the highest levels recorded to date.”

Almost 12,000 children ages 6 months to almost 5 years old were identified as acutely malnourished, and of those over 2,500 suffered the most life-threatening form, it said.

Families of hostages taken by Hamas have spoken out against Israel’s plans to occupy Gaza, warning that the escalation of war will be a “death sentence” for their loved ones.

Fifty hostages remain in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive, Israeli authorities have said.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an advocacy group, accused the Israeli government of “sacrificing” hostages by stoking military tensions in the Gaza Strip for nearly the past two years.

“You have failed,” it said in a post on X before a plan to take over Gaza City was approved by Israel’s security Cabinet. “Now it’s necessary to do the one thing the government hasn’t yet done — put a comprehensive deal on the table that will bring them all home together.”

‘What is left to occupy?’: Displaced Gazans question Netanyahu’s expansion plan

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Before today’s announcement that Israel would take over Gaza City, displaced civilians living in tents in central Gaza said they didn’t know what they could do or where they would go if Israel occupied the entire enclave.

“There is nothing left to occupy. There is no Gaza left, there are no buildings left,” one woman said.

“There is nothing left but dust,” she added.

Australia urged Israel “not to go down this path,” saying it would “only worsen the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.”

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said permanent forced displacement was a violation of international law, and that Australia continued to call for a ceasefire, the return of hostages and the unimpeded flow of aid.

“A two-state solution is the only pathway to secure an enduring peace — a Palestinian state and the State of Israel, living side-by-side in peace and security within internationally-recognized borders,” she said in a statement.

Demonstrators march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge during a pro-Palestinian rally on Sunday. Saeed Khan / AFP via Getty Images

Australia, where tens of thousands of people joined a pro-Palestinian march Sunday on Sydney Harbour Bridge, is poised to follow Britain, Canada and France in recognizing Palestinian statehood.

Gaza City, which before the war was the largest in the enclave, has already been targeted by multiple Israeli bombings and raids. Much of it has already been destroyed.

Before the start of the war, Gaza City was home to about 700,000 people, about the population of Washington, D.C. Hundreds of thousands of people fled the city after being told to evacuate early in the war, but many have returned. It is unclear how many are living there now.

Israel already controls and has largely destroyed around 75% of Gaza, with most of the population of 2 million Palestinians now sheltering in Gaza City, the central city of Deir al-Balah and the sprawling displacement camps in the Muwasi area along the coast.

An Israeli offensive in Gaza City could displace tens of thousands more people and make it even more difficult to deliver humanitarian aid.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee recently deferred to Israel’s government about whether to take over Gaza.

“It’s not our job to tell them what they should or should not do,” Huckabee told CBS News in an interview yesterday. “Certainly, if they ask for wisdom, counsel, advice, I’m sure the president would offer it. But ultimately, it’s the decision that the Israelis and only the Israelis can make.”

Asked about the families of hostages who oppose an expansion into Gaza, including one family that said it would be a “death sentence,” Huckabee said: “Families have different views of what should be done, what could be done.”

On Monday, officials from Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that he had decided to “occupy all of the Gaza Strip, including areas where hostages may be held.” The plan announced today stops short of a full occupation.

Commercial satellite images show the Israeli military building up troops and equipment near the border with Gaza that would support a possible new ground invasion of the Palestinian enclave, according to three U.S. officials and a former official who viewed the imagery.

An Israeli tank moves near the border of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. Ohad Zwigenberg / AP

The images show troop movements and formations that the four sources recognized as signs of an imminent major ground operation.

Israel’s security Cabinet approved a plan early Friday to take over Gaza City, citing Netanyahu’s office. The plan falls short of the full occupation of Gaza that Netanyahu had discussed earlier.

If there is a new military operation, it could include efforts to retrieve hostages held by Hamas and expand humanitarian assistance in areas outside the fighting, the three U.S. officials and a person briefed on Israeli discussions said. Israeli troops have been conducting ground operations in Gaza since Oct. 27, 2023, with pauses during two ceasefires.

Read the full story here.

A tent camp in Gaza City is seen from a Jordanian Air Force C-130 plane during an airdrop of humanitarian aid for Palestinians on the Gaza Strip on Thursday. Raad Adayleh / AP

Netanyahu told Fox News earlier Thursday that Israel intends to take control of Gaza but not for the long term.

“We want to have a security perimeter. We don’t want to govern it. We don’t want to be there as a governing body,” he told the network. “We want to hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us and giving Gazans a good life. That’s not possible with Hamas.”

Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told Al Jazeera that “the Israeli occupation seeks to break the will of the Palestinian people through more bloodshed and destruction of homes.” He said “it will fail.”

Read the full story here.

Israel said Friday morning local time that it plans to take over Gaza City, escalating its war with Hamas even as it faces growing international calls to end the 22-month conflict.

Here’s the full statement from Netanyahu’s office following approval of the plan: