Update on Israel and Gaza
It's drawn strong criticism from several world leaders with the UN now holding an urgent Security Council meeting tomorrow. The UN says a take over will be catastrophic for Palestinians and Israeli hostages.
Germany says it will halt exports of military equipment to Israel. It comes as pressure mounts on Israel to allow more aid into Gaza where hunger and malnutrition are spreading.
The Guardian's Washington DC bureau chief David Smith joins Perlina Lau with the latest reaction.
Palestinians inspect the damage after an overnight strike on the Sheikh Radwan Health Centre run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the north of Gaza City on 6 August, 2025.
Photo:
AFP
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Otago Daily Times
2 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Netanyahu says new Gaza offensive will start soon
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he expected to complete a new Gaza offensive "fairly quickly" as the UN Security Council heard new demands for an end to suffering in the Palestinian enclave. Netanyahu, speaking after his security cabinet on Friday approved a much-criticised plan to take control of Gaza City said he had no choice but to "complete the job" and defeat Hamas to free hostages seized from Israel. Gaza City, the enclave's most populous centre, came under Israeli air strikes late on Sunday and at least five people were killed at a sandwich shop in the Sabra neighbourhood, health officials at Shifa Hospital said. Palestinian media said two Al Jazeera journalists were also killed when a missile hit their tent near the hospital, and tank fire was reported in the area. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Netanyahu's office said late Sunday the prime minister had spoken with US President Donald Trump about "Israel's plans to take control of the remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza." Earlier in the day, the Israeli leader said the new Gaza offensive aimed to tackle two remaining Hamas strongholds in what he called his only option because of the Palestinian group's refusal to lay down its arms. Hamas says it will not disarm unless an independent Palestinian state is established. It was not clear when the offensive, which would be the latest in successive attempts by the Israeli military to clear the militants from Gaza City, would begin. "The timeline that we set for the action is fairly quickly. We want, first of all, to enable safe zones to be established so the civilian population of Gaza City can move out," he added. The city, home to a million people before the two-year-old war, would be moved into "safe zones", he said. Palestinians say these have not protected them from Israeli fire in the past. Israel's military chief has voiced opposition to occupying the entire Gaza Strip and has warned that expanding the offensive could endanger the lives of hostages Hamas is still holding and draw its troops into protracted and deadly guerrilla warfare. Netanyahu said his goal was not to occupy Gaza. "We want a security belt right next to our border, but we don't want to stay in Gaza. That's not our purpose," he said. European representatives at the United Nations said famine was unfolding in Gaza and Israel's plan would only make things worse. "Expanding military operations will only endanger the lives of all civilians in Gaza, including the remaining hostages, and result in further unnecessary suffering," Denmark, France, Greece, Slovenia and the United Kingdom said in a joint statement. "This is a manmade crisis, and therefore urgent action is needed to halt starvation and to surge aid into Gaza," they said. Malnutrition is widespread in the enclave due to what international aid agencies say is a deliberate plan by Israel to restrict aid. Israel rejects that allegation, blaming Hamas for the hunger among Palestinians and saying a lot of aid has been distributed. The US representative at the Security Council defended Netanhayu and said Washington was committed to addressing humanitarian needs, freeing the hostages and achieving peace. Netanyahu said Israel was working with Washington on creating a surge of aid into Gaza, including by land. After his conversation with Trump, the prime minister's office said he thanked the president "for his steadfast support of Israel." STARVATION Five more people, including two children, died of malnutrition and starvation in Gaza in the past 24 hours, Gaza's health ministry said, taking the number of deaths from such causes to 217, including 100 children. The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said a further 23 people had been killed so far in the war by airdrops of aid which countries have resorted to due to the difficulties of getting aid in by road. In the latest case, a parachuted aid box killed a 14-year-old boy awaiting food with other desperate Palestinians at a tent encampment in central Gaza, according to medics and video verified by Reuters. "We have repeatedly warned of the dangers of these inhumane methods and have consistently called for the safe and sufficient delivery of aid through land crossings, especially food, infant formula, medicines, and medical supplies," it said. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel and killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Israeli authorities say 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza are alive. Israel's offensive since then has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to health officials, and left much of the territory in ruins.
RNZ News
4 hours ago
- RNZ News
Hostage families call for nationwide strike as Israel prepares to escalate war
By Tal Shalev and Dana Karni , CNN Israeli soldiers near the border with Gaza. Photo:/File via CNN Newsource Families of Israeli hostages kept captive in Gaza are calling for a nationwide general strike, in protest of the Israeli security cabinet's recent decision to expand the war and take over Gaza City. "We are shutting down the country to save the soldiers and the hostages," the relatives of the hostages in Tel Aviv said. They were joined by the October 7 Council, which represents bereaved families of soldiers who fell at the start of the war. Organisers said the initiative would start as a grassroots effort primarily through private companies and citizens who would strike on Sunday to halt the economy. Within hours, the October 7 Council said "hundreds" of companies said they would participate in the strike, as well as "thousands of citizens who have declared they will take the day off". Israel's largest worker union, known as the Histadrut, hasn't yet joined the strike. The families are expected to meet with Histadrut Chairman Arnon Bar-David on Monday in a bid to convince him to join forces. Anat Angrest, mother of Matan, who is being held hostage in Gaza, appealed to the heads of the economic and labour industries, warning that "your silence is killing our children". Angrest said, "I know your hearts are with us and in pain - but that is not enough. Silence kills. That is why I am here today to ask for something I have avoided until now - to ask the heads of industry: you have the power." The Histadrut has already staged a general strike in support of the hostages' families last year. After the killing of six Israeli hostages by Hamas in September 2024, the union disrupted key sectors like transport, banking, healthcare, and joined widespread protests and demonstrations throughout the day. However, the Israeli government blasted their actions as political and moved to halt the strike through a labour court injunction. While the Histadrut has not commented publicly about the strike, Israeli opposition leaders have endorsed and embraced the initiative. Leader of the opposition Yair Lapid said, "The call by the families of the hostages for a general strike is justified and appropriate." The chairman of the Democrats party Yair Golan announced the party would join the strike and called "on all Israeli citizens - anyone who holds the values of life and mutual responsibility dear - to strike with us, to take to the streets, to resist and disrupt". The Israeli security cabinet decided on Friday to move forward with a controversial plan to expand the war and take over Gaza City. The plan has provoked harsh criticism from the families of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza, 20 of whom are presumed to be alive, warning that the new military move could endanger the living hostages and sentence them to death. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the escalation in a news conference on Sunday. "Contrary to false claims, this is the best way to end the war and the best way to end it speedily," he told reporters. Netanyahu described Gaza City and the central camps in the enclave as the "two remaining strongholds" of Hamas, which he insisted Israel had to attack to "finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas". - CNN
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
Thousands rally in Tel Aviv against Netanyahu's new Gaza plan, demand release of hostages
By Alexander Cornwell, Reuters Einav Zangauker (right), mother of Israeli hostage Matan Zangauker and Matan's girlfriend and former hostage Ilana Gritsevsky (2nd from left) protest with other families of Israeli hostages being held in the Gaza Strip. Photo: Jack Guez / AFP) Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Tel Aviv to oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to escalate the nearly two-year Gaza war, demanding an immediate end to the campaign and for the release of the hostages. A day earlier, the prime minister's office said the security cabinet, a small group of senior ministers, had decided to seize Gaza City, expanding military operations in the devastated Palestinian territory despite widespread public opposition and warnings from the military the move could endanger the hostages. "This isn't just a military decision. It could be a death sentence for the people we love most," Lishay Miran Lavi, the wife of hostage Omri Miran told the rally, pleading to US President Donald Trump to intervene to immediately end the war. Public opinion polls show an overwhelming majority of Israelis favour an immediate end to the war to secure the release of the remaining 50 hostages held by militants in Gaza. Israeli officials believe about 20 hostages are still alive. The Israeli government has faced sharp criticism at home and abroad, including from some of its closest European allies, over the announcement that the military would expand the war. The full cabinet is expected to give its approval as soon as Sunday. Most of the hostages who have been freed so far emerged as a result of diplomatic negotiations. Talks toward a ceasefire that could have seen more hostages released collapsed in July. "They (the government) are fanatic. They are doing things against the interests of the country," said Rami Dar, a 69-year-old retiree, who travelled from a nearby suburb outside of Tel Aviv, echoing calls for Trump to force a deal for the hostages. Tel Aviv has seen frequent rallies urging the government to reach a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas, who ignited the war with their October 2023 attack. Saturday's demonstration attracted over 100,000 protesters, according to organisers. "Frankly, I'm not an expert or anything, but I feel that after two years of fighting there has been no success," said Yana, 45, who attended the rally with her husband and two children. "I wonder whether additional lives for both sides, not just the Israelis but also Gazans, will make any difference." Around 1200 mostly Israelis were killed and 251 were taken into Gaza during Hamas' attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. More than 400 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since then. Protesters waved Israeli flags and carried placards bearing the images of hostages. Others held signs directing anger at the government or urging Trump to take action to stop Netanyahu from moving forward with plans to escalate the war. A small number of protesters held images of Gazan children killed by the military. Israel's military has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians in the war, according to the Gazan health ministry, which said that at least 39 had been killed in the past day. Some of the prime minister's far-right coalition allies have been pushing for a total takeover of Gaza. The military has warned this could endanger the lives of the hostages in Gaza. Far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich, a proponent of continuing the war, issued a statement on Saturday criticising Netanyahu and called for the annexation of large parts of Gaza. Netanyahu told Fox News in an interview that aired on Thursday that the military intended to take control of all of Gaza but that Israel did not want to keep the territory. The announcement from the prime minister's office early on Friday said the military would take Gaza City, but did not explicitly say if Israeli forces would take all of the enclave. Tal, a 55-year-old high school teacher, told Reuters at the rally in Tel Aviv that expanding the war was "terrible", warning it would result in the deaths of both soldiers and hostages and insisting the war should end with the military withdrawing. "We don't have anything to do there. It's not ours." - Reuters
