IDF chief of staff approves ‘main concept’ for new Gaza attack plan
The Israeli military said that chief of staff Eyal Zamir has approved the “main concept” for an attack plan in the Gaza Strip, Reuters reports. There are no further details yet, but we bring you updates when we get them.
On Sunday, Benjamin Netanyahu said he expected to complete the new Gaza offensive “fairly quickly”.
Last week Israel’s security cabinet approved the plans to seize control of Gaza City. The plan was met with international criticism and from Israel’s opposition. Opposition leader Yair Lapid called the decision to send Israeli forces into Gaza City a disaster, saying it defied the advice of military and security officials.
Key events
Hamas says Israel making ‘aggressive’ incursions into Gaza City
A Hamas official said that Israeli forces were making “aggressive” incursions into Gaza City on Wednsday, after the military approved the framework for a new offensive in the territory.
“The Israeli occupation forces continue to carry out aggressive incursions in Gaza City,” Ismail Al-Thawabta, director general of the Hamas government media office in Gaza, told AFP.
“These assaults represent a dangerous escalation aimed at imposing a new reality on the ground by force, through a scorched earth policy and the complete destruction of civilian property.”
Israeli planes and tanks bombed eastern areas of Gaza City heavily overnight, residents said, with many homes destroyed in the Zeitoun and Shejaia neighbourhoods, Reuters reports.
Al-Ahli hospital said 12 people were killed in an airstrike on a home in Zeitoun.
Tanks also destroyed several houses in the east of Khan Younis in south Gaza, while in the centre Israeli gunfire killed nine aid-seekers in two separate incidents, Palestinian medics said. Israel’s military did not comment.
Last night in a TV interview Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated an idea – also enthusiastically floated by US president Donald Trump – that Palestinians should simply leave the territory housing more than 2 million people after nearly two years of conflict.
“They’re not being pushed out, they’ll be allowed to exit,” he told Israeli television channel i24NEWS. “All those who are concerned for the Palestinians and say they want to help the Palestinians should open their gates and stop lecturing us.”
Arabs and many world leaders are aghast at the idea of displacing the Gaza population, which Palestinians say would be like another “Nakba” (catastrophe) when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced out during a 1948 war, news wire Reuters says.
Israel’s planned re-seizure of Gaza City – which it took in the early days of the war before withdrawing – is probably weeks away, officials say. That means a ceasefire is still possible though talks have been floundering and conflict still rages.
Britain, France and Germany have told the UN they are ready to reimpose UN-mandated sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme if no diplomatic solution is found by the end of August, according to a joint letter obtained by AFP.
The letter to UN secretary general Antonio Guterres and the UN security council says the three European powers are “committed to use all diplomatic tools at our disposal to ensure Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon” unless Tehran meets the deadline.
All three have stepped up warnings to Iran about its suspension of cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.
That came after Israel launched a 12-day war with Iran in June, partly seeking to destroy its nuclear capability. The US staged its own bombing raid during the war.
Iran’s top security chief vowed in Lebanon that his government would continue to provide support for Hezbollah, AFP reports, after the Lebanese government ordered the army to devise a plan to disarm the Tehran-backed militant group.
Ali Larijani’s trip to Lebanon comes after Iran expressed opposition to a government plan to disarm Hezbollah, which before a war with Israel last year was believed to be better armed than the Lebanese military.
“If … the Lebanese people are suffering, we in Iran will also feel this pain and we will stand by the dear people of Lebanon in all circumstances,” Larijani, the head of the National Security Council, told reporters after landing in Beirut.
Dozens of Hezbollah supporters gathered along the airport road to welcome Larijani. He briefly stepped out of his car to greet them as they chanted slogans of support.
In Lebanon, Larijani is scheduled to meet president Joseph Aoun and prime minister Nawaf Salam, as well as parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who is close to Hezbollah.
Iran has suffered a series of blows in its long-running rivalry with Israel, including during 12 days of war between the two countries in June.
Hezbollah’s grip on power has slipped since a war with Israel ended in a November 2024 ceasefire and the new Lebanese government, backed by the United States, has moved to further restrain it.
New Zealand PM says Benjamin Netanyahu has ‘lost the plot’
New Zealand’s prime minister has said that Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu had “lost the plot”, accusing him of going too far in his efforts to wage war on Gaza, AFP reports.
“What’s happening in Gaza is utterly, utterly appalling,” said prime minister Christopher Luxon.
“Netanyahu has gone way too far. I think he has lost the plot,” added Luxon in unusually candid comments.
“He is not listening to the international community and that is unacceptable.”
New Zealand on Monday hinted it could join the likes of Australia, Canada, France and Britain in recognising a Palestinian state.
“New Zealand has been clear for some time that our recognition of a Palestinian state is a matter of when, not if,” foreign affairs minister Winston Peters said.
“Cabinet will take a formal decision in September over whether New Zealand should recognise a state of Palestine at this juncture – and if so, when and how.”
The approval of the new Gaza plan by IDF chief of staff, Eyal Zamir comes amid a rift between Israel’s political leaders and its military commanders.
Israel’s decision to approve a plan to occupy the Gaza Strip has reportedly deepened tensions between the government and the country’s military leadership, while also exposing fresh fractures within the army’s senior ranks and straining relations with reservists summoned for what could become the most dangerous phase of the war, the Guardian’s international corespondent Lorenzo Tondo wrote on Sunday.
In the seven days leading up to the pivotal meeting of Israel’s security cabinet at which the plan was approved, the chief of staff Zamir, had repeatedly voiced his misgivings over the move to fully occupy the territory, warning that taking over Gaza would plunge Israel into a “black hole” of prolonged insurgency, humanitarian responsibility and heightened risk to hostages.
Zamir’s dissent ignited a political storm, with the son of the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing the army’s chief of staff of mutiny. Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, urged the chief of staff to “clearly state he will fully comply with the political leadership’s instructions, even if the decision is to occupy Gaza”.
Some Israeli reports suggested Zamir could resign, though he now appears to have approved the new plans.
IDF chief of staff approves ‘main concept’ for new Gaza attack plan
The Israeli military said that chief of staff Eyal Zamir has approved the “main concept” for an attack plan in the Gaza Strip, Reuters reports. There are no further details yet, but we bring you updates when we get them.
On Sunday, Benjamin Netanyahu said he expected to complete the new Gaza offensive “fairly quickly”.
Last week Israel’s security cabinet approved the plans to seize control of Gaza City. The plan was met with international criticism and from Israel’s opposition. Opposition leader Yair Lapid called the decision to send Israeli forces into Gaza City a disaster, saying it defied the advice of military and security officials.
Cogat, the Israeli military agency that deals with humanitarian logistics in Gaza, has posted an update on aid deliveries into the territory:
“Close to 320 trucks entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings.
Aid collection: Close to 320 trucks were collected and distributed by the UN and international organizations.
Fuel: 3 tankers of UN fuel entered for the operation of essential humanitarian systems.
Airdrops: 97 pallets of aid were airdropped in cooperation with the UAE, Germany, Belgium, Italy, and France.
Humanitarian personnel: A rotation coordination of humanitarian personnel has been successfully completed. We will continue expanding our efforts to facilitate humanitarian aid for the civilian population of Gaza.”
Yesterday foreign ministers from 25 countries signed a statement calling for a “flood” of aid to be let into Gaza, which is suffering from an acute shortage of food because of Israel’s blockade.
IDF says it struck militants disguised as aid workers
The Israeli military said it struck a group of militants in Gaza who were disguised as aid workers and using a car with the logo of international charity World Central Kitchen, AP reports.
The army said it carried out an airstrike on the men after confirming with the charity that they were not affiliated with it and that the car did not belong to it.
World Central Kitchen confirmed that the men and the vehicle were not affiliated with it. “We strongly condemn anyone posing as World Central Kitchen or other humanitarians, as this endangers civilians and aid workers,” it said in a statement.
The military shared video footage showing several men in yellow vests standing around a vehicle with the charity’s logo on its roof. The military said five of the men were armed.
The charity, founded in 2010, dispatches teams that can quickly provide meals on a mass scale in conflict zones and after natural disasters.
In a TV interview with an Israeli broadcaster last night, Benjamin Netanyahu revived calls to “allow” Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip, as the military prepares a broader offensive in the territory, AFP reports.
Past calls to resettle Gazans outside of the war-battered territory, including from US president Donald Trump, have sparked concern among Palestinians and condemnation from the international community.
Netanyahu told Israeli broadcaster i24NEWS that “we are not pushing them out, but we are allowing them to leave”.
“Give them the opportunity to leave, first of all, combat zones, and generally to leave the territory, if they want,” he said, citing refugee outflows during wars in Syria, Ukraine and Afghanistan.
Israel has tightly controlled Gaza’s borders for years.
“We will allow this, first of all within Gaza during the fighting, and we will certainly allow them to leave Gaza as well,” Netanyahu said.
Opening summary: Netanyahu indicates truce talks focused on release of all hostages
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hinted that ceasefire efforts in Gaza are now focused on a comprehensive deal that would release the remaining hostages all at once, rather than in phases.
Arab officials told the AP news agency last week that mediators Egypt and Qatar were preparing a new framework for a deal that would include the release of all remaining hostages in one go in return for a lasting ceasefire and Israel’s withdrawal.
The long-running indirect talks appeared to break down last month, but a Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo for fresh talks on Tuesday.
In an interview with Israel’s i24 News network on Tuesday, Netanyahu was asked if the window had closed on a partial ceasefire deal.
“I think it’s behind us,” Netanyahu replied. “We tried, we made all kinds of attempts, we went through a lot, but it turned out that they were just misleading us.”
“I want all of them,” he said of the hostages. “The release of all the hostages, both alive and dead – that’s the stage we’re at.”
He added that Israel’s demands haven’t changed, and that the war will end only when all hostages are returned and Hamas has surrendered.
Other key updates include:
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The United Nations has warned that starvation and malnutrition in Gaza are at the highest levels since the war began. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric reported the warning from the World Food Program and said Gaza’s Health Ministry told UN staff in Gaza that five people died over the last 24 hours from malnutrition and starvation. The ministry says 121 adults and 101 children have died of malnutrition-related causes during the war.
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The foreign ministers of 25 countries including the UK, Australia, France, Spain and Japan as well as two signatories from the EU released a joint statement saying that “humanitarian suffering in Gaza has reached unimaginable levels”. The statement called for the government of Israel to let in a “flood” of aid.
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The World Health Organization said Israel should let it stock medical supplies to deal with a “catastrophic” health situation in Gaza, before Israel enacts plans to seize control of Gaza City.
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Gaza’s Hamas-run government media office has said Israel is blocking the entry of more than 430 food items into the territory, despite allowing some aid trucks through last month under international pressure.
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Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday revived calls to “allow” Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip, as the military prepares a broader offensive in the territory. Israel tightly controls Gaza. It is not clear where Gazans would go should they be allowed to leave the territory.
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Australia prime minister Anthony Albanese said his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu was “in denial” about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, a day after announcing Australia would recognise a Palestinian state for the first time.