Israel's military has stepped up armed operations around Gaza City, ending temporary pauses there that had allowed for aid deliveries, as it announced the recovery of the body of Ilan Weiss, a hostage seized by Hamas.
Israel is pushing ahead with a plan to take full control of the whole Gaza Strip, starting with Gaza City, with the goal of destroying Hamas after nearly 23 months of war, while facing a global outcry over accusations of starvation in the besieged enclave.
"The local tactical pause in military activity will not apply to the area of Gaza City, which constitutes a dangerous combat zone," the Israeli military said.
The assault on Gaza City has gradually intensified over the past week as Israel has urged civilians to leave for the south of the Palestinian enclave.
The evacuation orders were criticised by the head of the international Red Cross on Saturday, who insisted there was no way it could be done safely.
"It is impossible that a mass evacuation of Gaza City could ever be done in a way that is safe and dignified under the current conditions," International Committee of the Red Cross president Mirjana Spoljaric said in a statement, describing the evacuation plan as "not only unfeasible but incomprehensible".
The Israeli military's Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee said the military was operating with great intensity on the outskirts of Gaza City and would "deepen our strikes" as it pressed its assault.
It announced daily 10-hour tactical pauses in fighting across the enclave and new aid corridors in late July, after months of severely restricted humanitarian deliveries.
Last week, the global hunger monitor that works with the United Nations and major aid agencies said it had determined there was famine in Gaza City that was likely to spread to other parts of Gaza. Israel has rejected that determination.
- US blocks Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and officials from entering for UN summit
- Khawaja's proposed Israel sports ban would violate 'equal rights', Olympic body says
- Israel is accused of a 'double tap' strike. What is it and what does international law say?
Israel describes widespread hunger documented by aid agencies as "a Hamas-orchestrated starvation campaign", with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stating: "There is no policy of starvation in Gaza, and there is no starvation in Gaza."
Five people, including two children, died from malnutrition and starvation in Gaza over the previous 24 hours, the Gaza health ministry said on Friday, bringing the total number of deaths from such cases to 322 since the start of the war, the vast majority in the last few weeks.
Israeli fire across the besieged Palestinian enclave killed 48 people on Friday, local health authorities said.
Israeli forces recover remains of two hostages
Israel has bombarded Gaza since Hamas' October 7 attack in 2023, in which more than 1,200 people, including an estimated 30 children, were killed and over 200 hostages taken, according to the Israeli government.
The October 7 attack was a significant escalation in the long-standing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Israeli forces recovered the body of Weiss as well as the remains of a second individual whose identity had yet to be cleared for publication, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
An Israeli military official said Weiss was killed on the day of the initial Hamas attack in October 2023 and taken from his home by Hamas fighters. His death was determined on 3 December, 2023, the official said.
Weiss, in his mid-50s, was a member of an emergency response team in a kibbutz attacked by the fighters.
Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 63,000 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to Gaza health officials.
In Washington, the United States State Department said it would deny or revoke visas of members of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority ahead of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in September. It accused them of undermining the prospects for peace.
The PA and PLO are recognised internationally as the legitimate representatives of the Palestinian people, and exercise limited self rule in parts of the occupied West Bank under agreements with Israel.
