Israeli military announces move in Gaza City as it steps up attacks before planned offensive
Israel’s military will no longer pause fighting to allow aid deliveries in Gaza City, a military spokesperson has said, in a decision likely to deepen the famine already gripping the north of the territory.
Israeli forces have been stepping up attacks in and around Gaza City as the military prepares for a ground operation that humanitarian groups and many of Israel’s closest allies have warned will be catastrophic for hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians already struggling to survive hunger, disease and Israeli attacks.
Gaza’s health ministry said on Friday that malnutrition had killed five people and Israeli strikes had killed 59 others over the previous 24 hours.
In a statement on X the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that the “local tactical pause” would no longer apply to Gaza City as of Friday morning. The whole city was now considered a “dangerous combat zone”, the military said, although Israel has not ordered civilians to evacuate.
