Israel vows to destroy Gaza City if Hamas doesn’t disarm and release hostages

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed on Friday to destroy Gaza City if Hamas did not agree to disarm, release all remaining hostages in the territory and end the war on Israel’s terms. “Soon, the gates of hell will open upon the heads of Hamas’s murderers and rapists in Gaza – until they agree to Israel’s conditions for ending the war, primarily the release of all hostages and their disarmament,” the minister posted on social media. “If they do not agree, Gaza, the capital of Hamas, will become Rafah and Beit Hanoun,” he added, referring to two cities in Gaza largely razed during previous Israeli operations. He restated Israel’s ceasefire demands: the release of all hostages and Hamas’ complete disarmament. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late on Thursday that he had ordered immediate negotiations aimed at freeing all the remaining hostages in Gaza. With ground troops already active in strategic areas, the wide-scale operation in Gaza City could start within days. Gaza City is Hamas’ military and governing stronghold, atop what Israel believes is an extensive tunnel network. It is also sheltering hundreds of thousands of civilians and still houses some of the strip’s critical infrastructure and health facilities. Hamas said earlier this week that it had agreed to a ceasefire proposal from Arab mediators, which – if accepted by Israel – could forestall the offensive. However, the group rejects disarmament without the creation of a Palestinian state. The parties do not negotiate directly, and similar announcements have been made in the past that did not lead to ceasefires. Two more people have died of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza in the past 24 hours, the enclave’s health ministry said on Thursday. The new deaths raised the number of Palestinians who have died from such causes to 271, including 112 children, since the war began. Israel disputes malnutrition and starvation figures posted by the ministry. The United Nations officially declared a famine in Gaza on Friday, blaming “systematic obstruction of aid” by Israel, who angrily denied there was a famine, with the foreign ministry saying the report was “based on Hamas lies laundered through organisations with vested interests”. After the UN famine declaration, Hamas on Friday called for an immediate end to the war in Gaza. In a statement published online, the group called for “immediate action by the UN and the security council to stop the war and lift the siege” and demanded that crossings be opened “without restrictions to allow the urgent and continuous entry of food, medicine, water, and fuel”. Earlier this week, the Israeli defence ministry authorised the call-up of roughly 60,000 reservists to help seize Gaza City. “These two matters – defeating Hamas and releasing all our hostages – go hand in hand,” Netanyahu said in a video statement on Thursday, without providing details about what the next stage of talks would entail. The UN humanitarian agency has warned that the Israeli plan to expand military operations in Gaza City would have “a horrific humanitarian impact” on an already exhausted population. Mediators have been waiting for days for an official Israeli response to their latest ceasefire proposal, which Hamas accepted earlier this week. Palestinian sources have said the new deal involves staggered hostage releases, while Israel has insisted that any deal must include the freeing of all the captives at once. Israel’s plans to expand the fighting and seize Gaza City have sparked an international outcry as well as domestic opposition. Netanyahu is under pressure from some far-right members of his coalition to reject a temporary ceasefire and instead continue the war and pursue the annexation of the territory. Some Palestinian families in Gaza City have left for shelters along the coast, while others have moved to central and southern parts of the enclave, according to residents there. “We are facing a bitter, bitter situation, to die at home or leave and die somewhere else. As long as this war continues, survival is uncertain,” said Rabah Abu Elias, 67, a father of seven. “In the news, they speak about a possible truce; on the ground, we only hear explosions and see deaths. To leave Gaza City or not isn’t an easy decision to make,” he said by phone. Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally based on official figures. Of the 251 hostages seized during the attack, 49 are still in Gaza, including 27 that the Israeli military says are dead. Israel’s offensive has killed at least 62,263 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable. Additional reporting by Reuters, Associated Press

Israel vows to destroy Gaza City if Hamas doesn’t disarm and release hostages

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Hamas has accepted a new ceasefire proposal, but Israel has yet to officially respond as fighting escalates on the ground

Hamas has accepted a new ceasefire proposal, but Israel has yet to officially respond as fighting escalates on the ground