IDF calls Gaza City a 'dangerous combat zone', ends pauses for aid

The Israeli military declared Gaza City "a dangerous combat zone" on Friday, as it prepared to conquer the Palestinian territory's largest city after almost two years of devastating war.

The declaration came along with a decision to end the previous pauses of military activity in certain areas to allow aid distribution.

Israel is under mounting pressure at home and abroad to end its offensive in Gaza, where the vast majority of the population has been displaced at least once and the United Nations has declared a famine.

The Israeli military, however, is gearing up to expand the fighting and seize Gaza City, with its Arabic-language spokesman saying on Friday: "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 wrote on X.

An earlier statement announced the end of the pauses for aid distribution. 

"Starting today (Friday), at 10:00 (0700GMT), the local tactical pause in military activity will not apply to the area of Gaza City, which constitutes a dangerous combat zone," the military said in a statement.

The military did not call for the population to evacuate immediately, but Adraee said on Wednesday that the city's evacuation was "inevitable".

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.

Israel recovers bodies of two hostages, PM's office says

Israel has recovered the body of hostage Ilan Weiss from the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Friday.

The remains of a second hostage, whose name had yet to be released for publication, were also retrieved, the statement added.

Weiss, 55, was kidnapped from his home during the October 7, 2023, cross-border attack by Hamas, the Israeli military said. His wife, Shiri, and daughter, Noga, were also abducted and later released as part of a hostage-prisoner swap deal in November 2023.

Around 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli authorities.

With Weiss's body recovered, Israel says 49 hostages remain in Gaza, of whom only 20 are believed to be alive.

The prime minister's office said the campaign to return the hostages was ongoing. "We will neither rest nor be silent until we bring all of our hostages back home, the living and the deceased," the statement said.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed last week to destroy Gaza City if Hamas did not agree to end the war on Israel's terms.

His ministry has approved the military's plan to seize the city and authorised the call-up of roughly 60,000 reservists. 

On Thursday, Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called on the government to begin annexing parts of the Gaza Strip if Palestinian militant group Hamas stands by its refusal to lay down its weapons.

The far-right minister, who has vocally opposed striking a deal with Hamas to end the nearly two-year war, presented his plan to "win in Gaza by the end of the year" at a press conference in Jerusalem.

Under Smotrich's proposal, Hamas would be given an ultimatum to surrender, disarm and release hostages. If not, Smotrich said Israel should annex a section of the territory each week for four weeks, bringing most of the Gaza Strip under full Israeli control.

According to Smotrich, Palestinians would first be told to move south in Gaza, followed by Israel imposing a siege on the territory's north and center to defeat any remaining Hamas militants there, and ending with annexation.

"This can be achieved in three to four months," he said.

'Fear chases us'

Footage from Gaza City on Thursday showed displaced Palestinians fleeing southward, their vehicles piled high with mattresses, chairs and bags.

"My heart is burning. We don't want to leave our home. We're exhausted, driven north and south with no relief," said 42-year-old Mohammed Abu Qamar, who is originally from Jabalia camp in northern Gaza but was heading south.

"Death is closing in around us. We walk on the road, not knowing if we'll reach safety or die halfway there," he said.

In a statement on Thursday, the military said it was preparing to "expand operations against Hamas in Gaza City", while COGAT, the defense ministry body that oversees civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, said it was undertaking preparations "for moving the population southward for their protection".

Aid groups on the ground have warned against expanding the military campaign.

Abdul Karim Al-Damagh, 64, said he was also heading south and that it was the fifth time he had been displaced since the start of the war.

"Today, once again, I must abandon what remains of my home and memories.... The south may be a bit quieter than here, but it's not safe – fear chases us, and death is always near," he said.

"All we ask for is mercy. I want to die with my head held high, not standing in a water line or behind a bag of flour."

'Endless' horrors

Gaza's civil defense agency reported 33 people killed by Israeli forces across the Palestinian territory on Friday. Asked for comment, the Israeli military said it was "checking" the reports.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean it is unable for news agencies to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency or the Israeli military.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday condemned the "endless catalogue of horrors" in Gaza, calling for accountability and warning of potential war crimes.

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

The October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally based on Israeli figures.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 62,966 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the UN considers reliable.