Israel army says Gaza City now 'a dangerous combat zone'

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.

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.

An army statement on Friday said that going forward Gaza City "constitutes a dangerous combat zone", and daily pauses in military activity aimed at facilitating aid distribution will no longer apply there.

The military did not call for the population to leave immediately, but Adraee said earlier this week that the city's evacuation was "inevitable".

In southern Gaza City on Friday, AFP footage showed Palestinians picking through the wreckage of a building following an Israeli strike.

Mohammed Abu Qamar, 42, who is originally from Jabalia camp in northern Gaza but was heading south, said his "heart is burning".

"We don't want to leave our home. We're exhausted, driven north and south with no relief," he told AFP by telephone.

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

- 'Fear chases us' -

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

In a statement on Thursday, COGAT, the Israeli defence 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, told AFP he was 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."

Israeli Defence 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 has authorised the call-up of roughly 60,000 reservists.

Military spokesman Adraee said on Friday that the military would intensify strikes until all hostages held in Gaza were returned and Hamas was dismantled "militarily and politically".

Around the same time, the Israeli military announced it had recovered the remains of two hostages during an operation in Gaza.

One was identified as Ilan Weiss -- who was killed and taken from kibbutz Beeri in southern Israel on October 7, 2023 -- while the name of the second hostage has yet to be released.

Of the 251 hostages seized during the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war, 47 are still being held in Gaza, around 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

- 'Endless' horrors -

Gaza's civil defence agency reported 33 people killed by Israeli forces across the Palestinian territory on Friday.

Asked for comment by AFP, the Israeli military said it was "checking" the reports.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence 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.

Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP 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.

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