- Israel has declared Gaza City a “dangerous combat zone”, ending prior daily tactical pauses that briefly allowed limited aid deliveries The GuardianRe
- The Israeli military has stepped up its assault, with intensified strikes on the outskirts and no longer applying ceasefire pauses within Gaza City ReutersCNA.
- The remains of Ilan Weiss, a hostage abducted during Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack, and another unidentified individual were recovered in a complex operation New York PostThe TimesReuters.
- Gaza’s health authorities report worsening conditions: five individuals died of starvation in 24 hours, adding to 322 famine-related deaths since the war began; Israeli strikes killed 48–59 people on the same day ReutersThe GuardianAP News.
- Over 63,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have died since the conflict began. International concern mounts, with the UN, EU, and other actors warning of catastrophic humanitarian collapse
Israel’s military stepped up its armed operations around Gaza City on Friday, ending the temporary pauses in fighting that had allowed limited humanitarian aid deliveries into the enclave, even as global concern over famine and civilian casualties intensified.
The announcement came as Israeli officials confirmed the recovery of the body of Ilan Weiss, a hostage abducted by Hamas during its October 7, 2023 assault on southern Israel that triggered the war. Israeli forces also retrieved the remains of another individual yet to be identified.
“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 in a statement Friday, declaring that fighting there would continue without interruption.
Over the past week, the offensive on Gaza City—the enclave’s largest urban center—has grown fiercer. Israeli officials say the push is part of a broader plan to seize full control of the Gaza Strip, dismantle Hamas’ military infrastructure, and eliminate its leadership after nearly 23 months of war.
But critics argue the campaign has come at an extraordinary humanitarian cost. Health authorities in Hamas-run Gaza said on Friday that more than 63,000 people—mostly civilians—have been killed since the war began. Thousands more are missing under rubble.
A city under relentless fire
As the battle for Gaza City rages, Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee told Arabic-language media that forces were “operating with great intensity” on the city’s outskirts and would “deepen our strikes” in the coming days.
Israel had previously announced daily 10-hour tactical pauses in parts of Gaza beginning in late July after international criticism over severely restricted aid deliveries. Images of emaciated children and collapsing hospitals sparked outrage worldwide.
But the Israeli army now says Gaza City is too militarized for such pauses to continue.
Residents described near-constant shelling over the past 48 hours. Video filmed by Reuters on Friday showed rows of bodies in white shrouds outside Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest medical facility, where relatives wept beside the dead. One man held a small child’s body across his knees.
“What did they do while they were sleeping? What did a three-year-old child do?” asked Manal Sahweil, whose relatives were killed in an overnight airstrike.
Local health officials said at least 48 people were killed across the enclave on Friday alone.
Starvation fears deepen
Even before Friday’s escalation, humanitarian groups warned Gaza was sliding toward catastrophe. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a global hunger monitor working with the United Nations, declared last week that parts of the territory were already in “famine.”
Israel has rejected that determination, accusing Hamas of seizing aid and exaggerating suffering for political gain.
But Gaza’s Health Ministry said five people—including two children—died from malnutrition and starvation in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of such deaths to 322 since the war began. Most occurred in recent weeks as food supplies dwindled.
UN agencies say over 80 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced, with many living in makeshift tents or crowded school buildings with little access to clean water or medicine.
“Children are dying not just from bombs but from hunger and disease,” said Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. “We are running out of time to prevent a full-scale famine.”
Hamas, ISIS elements, and hostage crisis
On Friday, the Israeli military said it had killed Muhammad Abd al-Aziz Abu Zubaida, described as Gaza’s most senior ISIS-affiliated operative.
ISIS-linked groups have had limited presence in Gaza in recent years after Hamas cracked down on them, but Israeli officials say remnants still operate in small cells.
The conflict began when Hamas fighters stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and abducting 250 others, according to Israeli tallies.
The body of Ilan Weiss, recovered this week, was taken from his home during that assault, the Israeli Prime Minister’s office said. Weiss, in his mid-fifties, was a member of his kibbutz’s emergency response team. Officials said he was killed on October 7, but confirmation of his death only came months later.
Around 80 hostages are believed to remain in Gaza, some alive, others unaccounted for.
Rising international fallout
As images of mass graves and starving children dominate headlines, Israel faces mounting diplomatic and legal pressure.
In Washington, the U.S. State Department said Friday it would deny or revoke visas for members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Palestinian Authority (PA) ahead of the United Nations General Assembly next month, accusing them of “undermining prospects for peace.”
Both bodies are internationally recognized representatives of the Palestinian people and govern parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank under past agreements with Israel.
Meanwhile, human rights lawyers in Argentina filed a criminal complaint Friday seeking the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he travels to the country, citing alleged war crimes including “intentionally causing death by starvation” and “inhumane acts” during the Gaza campaign.
“It is understood that Netanyahu is criminally responsible as a co-perpetrator,” read the filing by attorneys Rodolfo Yanzon and Raji Sourani, director of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights.
Argentina’s government has not confirmed whether Netanyahu plans to visit, though local media report he may meet Argentine President Javier Milei on the sidelines of the UN summit in New York instead.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has already issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu over Gaza war crimes allegations. Israel rejects the charges, calling them politically motivated.
Turkey tightens the screws
In Ankara, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told parliament Friday that Turkey has barred Israeli vessels from its ports, prohibited Turkish ships from docking in Israel, and restricted Israeli government flights and planes carrying weapons from using Turkish airspace.
“We have totally cut our trade with Israel,” Fidan declared. “Our ports and airspace are closed to them.”
Turkey, once a close regional partner of Israel, has become one of its fiercest critics since the Gaza war began. Ankara accuses Israel of committing genocide—an allegation Israel denies—and has called for global sanctions.
Turkish officials said humanitarian aid flights to Gaza could begin soon pending Jordanian approval.
Activists prepare massive aid flotilla
As governments debate sanctions, pro-Palestinian activists are organizing what they call the largest aid flotilla yet to break Israel’s 15-year naval blockade of Gaza.
Dozens of boats carrying food, medicine, and volunteers from 44 countries are expected to depart Spanish ports Sunday. Among those joining are Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Portuguese lawmaker Mariana Mortagua.
“They need to act to defend human rights and guarantee safe passage for this flotilla,” said organizer Saif Abukeshek, a Palestinian living in Spain.
Israel has intercepted numerous past flotillas, including a 2010 raid that killed nine Turkish activists and a June 2025 boarding of a British-flagged yacht carrying Thunberg, which Israel dismissed as a “propaganda stunt for Hamas.”
The Israeli Navy says the blockade, in place since Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007, prevents weapons smuggling.
War grinds on with no end in sight
Nearly two years into the conflict, neither Israel nor Hamas appears close to a decisive victory.
Israeli officials insist controlling Gaza City is essential to dismantling Hamas, whose leaders remain at large despite months of airstrikes and ground raids.
Hamas, for its part, continues to fire rockets into southern Israel and has rejected ceasefire proposals that do not include full Israeli withdrawal and lifting of the blockade.
Mediation efforts by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States have repeatedly stalled over disagreements on prisoner exchanges, security guarantees, and postwar governance of Gaza.
Global calls for restraint
As civilian casualties climb, several countries—including France, South Africa, and Brazil—have renewed calls for an immediate ceasefire and independent investigations into alleged war crimes.
Pope Francis on Friday urged “an end to the bloodshed and suffering of innocents,” while UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned Gaza risked becoming “a graveyard for children.”
But Israel says halting operations now would allow Hamas to regroup. “We will not stop until Hamas no longer governs Gaza or threatens our people,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Thursday.
The humanitarian clock is ticking
With fighting now intensifying in Gaza City and aid corridors shrinking, humanitarian groups warn time is running out.
“Every day without a ceasefire means more dead children, more families without food, more disease,” said Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council.
The World Health Organization says only a fraction of Gaza’s hospitals remain functional, and fuel shortages have left many without electricity for incubators, dialysis machines, or operating rooms.
Unless aid access improves, officials say, the enclave could face one of the worst humanitarian crises of the 21st century.
For now, the bombs keep falling, the death toll keeps rising, and Gaza’s 2.3 million residents remain trapped—caught between Hamas militants, Israeli firepower, and a world unable or unwilling to stop the war.