‘A dangerous combat zone’: Israel readies Gaza city offensive despite UN famine warning, global pressure

Israel on Friday branded Gaza City “a dangerous combat zone”, signalling preparations for a major push to seize control of the war-ravaged enclave’s largest city after nearly two years of fighting.

Calls for an end to the offensive are growing both domestically and internationally, as the conflict has forced the vast majority of Gaza’s residents to flee their homes multiple times, while the United Nations has already declared a famine in the territory.

Undeterred, the Israeli military said it was pressing ahead with plans to escalate operations in Gaza City. Its Arabic-language spokesman warned: “We are not waiting.”

“We have begun preliminary operations and the initial stages of the attack on Gaza City, and we are currently operating with great force on the outskirts of the city,” Avichay Adraee said on X.

The UN estimates that nearly a million people currently live in Gaza governorate, which includes Gaza City and its surroundings in the north of the territory.

The UN declared a famine in Gaza governorate last week, blaming “systematic obstruction” by Israel of humanitarian aid deliveries.

An army statement on Friday said that going forward Gaza City “constitutes a dangerous combat zone”, and daily pauses in military activity that had allowed limited food deliveries will no longer apply there.

The military did not call for the population to leave immediately, but Adraee said earlier this week that the city’s evacuation was “inevitable”.

In southern Gaza City on Friday, AFP footage showed Palestinians picking through the wreckage of a building following an Israeli strike.

Mohammed Abu Qamar, 42, who is originally from Jabalia camp in northern Gaza but was heading south, said his “heart is burning”.

“We don’t want to leave our home. We’re exhausted,” he told AFP by telephone. “Death is closing in around us.”

Gaza’s civil defence agency reported at least 40 people killed by Israeli forces across the Palestinian territory on Friday.

Asked for comment by AFP, the Israeli military requested coordinates to look into the reports.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.

UN chief Antonio Guterres has condemned the “endless catalogue of horrors” in Gaza, calling for accountability and warning of potential war crimes.

Turkey said Friday it had closed its ports and airspace to Israeli ships and planes, with a diplomatic source telling AFP the ban applied to “official” flights.

Hamas welcomed the move and urged governments around the world to “escalate punitive measures” against Israel to compel it to halt its offensive.

Hamas’s October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 63,025 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the UN considers reliable.

With inputs from agencies