Israeli military forces report control over forty percent of Gaza City
In the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, the Israeli military has vowed to intensify its pressure until Hamas is defeated. This escalation has led to a significant increase in violence, with civilian casualties mounting and essential services collapsing.
The United Nations has declared a famine in and around Gaza City, where nearly one million people live. UNICEF spokeswoman Tess Ingram stated that the escalating military operation is causing essential services to collapse, and without immediate and increased access to food, more children in Gaza City will starve.
The violence has resulted in a high death toll. According to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures, the Hamas October 2023 offensive has led to the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians. The Israeli retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,231 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.
The Israeli military has intensified bombardments of Gaza City in the past few days, ahead of the planned offensive. In central Gaza's Nuseirat refugee camp, an Israeli air strike killed seven people including three children. The Israeli military also targeted a tent sheltering a displaced Palestinian family in Gaza City, killing five people including three children.
The Israeli military controls 40% of Gaza City, the largest urban centre in the Palestinian territory. Israeli military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin stated that the offensive "will continue to expand and intensify in the coming days". However, the Israeli military denies being aware of a strike in central Gaza's Nuseirat refugee camp.
Meanwhile, Hamas top officials have been meeting with Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Doha to discuss efforts to end the war. The government of Qatar, together with Egypt and the United States, also met with representatives of Hamas in Doha in 2025 to mediate and negotiate a ceasefire and the release of hostages in the Gaza conflict.
The tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency and the Israeli military cannot be independently verified by AFP due to media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas. AFP footage shows Yousef Suleiman walking through a bombed-out shelter in central Gaza's Nuseirat refugee camp. Bodies wrapped in white shrouds were seen on the floor of Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital's morgue.
Outside in Gaza City, a woman mourns over her dead son. European Commission vice president Teresa Ribera and the European Union's top official have called the war in Gaza a "genocide" in Paris and Brussels respectively. The international community is urging both sides to cease hostilities and find a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
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