Israeli military approves plan for expanded offensive in Gaza
Israeli armed forces chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir has “approved the main framework” for a new offensive in the Gaza Strip, a statement released by the army said. Prime Benjamin Minister Netanyahu has not provided a timetable for when Israeli troops will enter Gaza City, where thousands of Gazans have taken refuge after fleeing Israel's previous offensives.
Issued on: 13/08/2025 -
By: FRANCE 24
Video by: Noga TARNOPOLSKY
Palestinian watch as a plume of smoke rises during an Israeli strike on Gaza City's southern al-Zeitoun neighbourhood on August 8, 2025. © Bashar Taleb, AFP
01:26
The Israeli military said on Wednesday it had approved the framework for a new offensive in the Gaza Strip, as Hamas condemned what it called “aggressive” Israeli ground incursions in Gaza City.
The approval for the expanded offensive comes days after Israel’s security cabinet called for the seizure of Gaza’s largest city, following 22 months of war that have created dire humanitarian conditions in the Palestinian territory. Israeli continues to severely restrict the amount of food and other supplies that it allows to enter the besieged enclave.
Israeli armed forces chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir “approved the main framework for the IDF’s operational plan in the Gaza Strip,” a statement released by the army said.
Prime Benjamin Minister Netanyahu’s government has not provided a precise timetable for when Israeli troops will enter Gaza City, where thousands have taken refuge after fleeing previous offensives.
Read more Netanyahu pushes for Palestinians' departure from Gaza as Egypt seeks 60-day truce
Ismail Al-Thawabta, director general of the Hamas government media office in Gaza, told AFP on Wednesday that “the Israeli occupation forces continue to carry out aggressive incursions in Gaza City”.
“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,” he added.
Sabah Fatoum, 51, who lives in a tent in the Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood of Gaza City told AFP by phone that “the explosions are massive” in the area.
There are “many air strikes and tanks are advancing in the southern area of Tal al-Hawa with drones above our heads,” she said.
“The tanks are still there, and I saw dozens of civilians fleeing” to the west of the city, she added.
Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli air strikes on Gaza City have intensified in recent days, with the residential neighbourhoods of Zeitoun and Sabra hit “with very heavy air strikes targeting civilian homes, possibly including high-rise buildings”.
Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that Israeli strikes or fire had killed at least 35 people across Gaza on Wednesday.
‘Just escaped death’
AFP footage from Gaza City on Tuesday showed Palestinians fleeing Israeli strikes on the Zeitoun and Asqoola using overladen carts, vans and bikes.
“I didn’t bring a mattress or anything and we just escaped death and now we’re running away and we don’t know where to go,” said displaced Palestinian Fidaa Saad.
Israel’s plans to expand its offensive into Gaza City come as diplomacy aimed at securing an elusive ceasefire and hostage release deal has stalled for weeks, after the latest round of negotiations broke down in July.
Egypt said Tuesday it was working with fellow Gaza mediators Qatar and the United States to broker a 60-day truce “with the release of some hostages and some Palestinian detainees, and the flow of humanitarian and medical assistance to Gaza without restrictions, without conditions”.
Hamas said early Wednesday that a senior delegation had arrived in Cairo for “preliminary talks” with Egyptian officials.
Israel’s plans to expand the Gaza war have sparked international outcry as well as domestic opposition.
Reserve and retired pilots who served in the Israeli air force on Tuesday rallied in Tel Aviv to demand an end to the conflict.
“This war and expansion will only cause the death of the hostages, death of more Israeli soldiers, and death of many more innocent Palestinians in Gaza,” said Guy Poran, a former Israeli air force pilot.
Read moreIsrael's security cabinet approves plan to take over Gaza City
Dire conditions
UN-backed experts have warned of widespread famine unfolding in the territory, where Israel has drastically curtailed the amount of humanitarian aid it allows in.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 235 people including 106 children have died of hunger since the war began in October 2023, with many cases recorded in recent weeks.
Netanyahu on Tuesday revived calls to “allow” Palestinians to leave Gaza, telling Israeli broadcaster i24NEWS that “we are not pushing them out, but we are allowing them to leave”.
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.
Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel which triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Of the 251 hostages taken during the attack, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s offensive has killed at least 61,722 Palestinians, according to figures from the health ministry in Gaza which the United Nations considers reliable.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
01:26
The Israeli military said on Wednesday it had approved the framework for a new offensive in the Gaza Strip, as Hamas condemned what it called “aggressive” Israeli ground incursions in Gaza City.
The approval for the expanded offensive comes days after Israel’s security cabinet called for the seizure of Gaza’s largest city, following 22 months of war that have created dire humanitarian conditions in the Palestinian territory. Israeli continues to severely restrict the amount of food and other supplies that it allows to enter the besieged enclave.
Israeli armed forces chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir “approved the main framework for the IDF’s operational plan in the Gaza Strip,” a statement released by the army said.
Prime Benjamin Minister Netanyahu’s government has not provided a precise timetable for when Israeli troops will enter Gaza City, where thousands have taken refuge after fleeing previous offensives.
Read more Netanyahu pushes for Palestinians' departure from Gaza as Egypt seeks 60-day truce
Ismail Al-Thawabta, director general of the Hamas government media office in Gaza, told AFP on Wednesday that “the Israeli occupation forces continue to carry out aggressive incursions in Gaza City”.
“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,” he added.
Sabah Fatoum, 51, who lives in a tent in the Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood of Gaza City told AFP by phone that “the explosions are massive” in the area.
There are “many air strikes and tanks are advancing in the southern area of Tal al-Hawa with drones above our heads,” she said.
“The tanks are still there, and I saw dozens of civilians fleeing” to the west of the city, she added.
Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli air strikes on Gaza City have intensified in recent days, with the residential neighbourhoods of Zeitoun and Sabra hit “with very heavy air strikes targeting civilian homes, possibly including high-rise buildings”.
Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that Israeli strikes or fire had killed at least 35 people across Gaza on Wednesday.
‘Just escaped death’
AFP footage from Gaza City on Tuesday showed Palestinians fleeing Israeli strikes on the Zeitoun and Asqoola using overladen carts, vans and bikes.
“I didn’t bring a mattress or anything and we just escaped death and now we’re running away and we don’t know where to go,” said displaced Palestinian Fidaa Saad.
Israel’s plans to expand its offensive into Gaza City come as diplomacy aimed at securing an elusive ceasefire and hostage release deal has stalled for weeks, after the latest round of negotiations broke down in July.
Egypt said Tuesday it was working with fellow Gaza mediators Qatar and the United States to broker a 60-day truce “with the release of some hostages and some Palestinian detainees, and the flow of humanitarian and medical assistance to Gaza without restrictions, without conditions”.
Hamas said early Wednesday that a senior delegation had arrived in Cairo for “preliminary talks” with Egyptian officials.
Israel’s plans to expand the Gaza war have sparked international outcry as well as domestic opposition.
Reserve and retired pilots who served in the Israeli air force on Tuesday rallied in Tel Aviv to demand an end to the conflict.
“This war and expansion will only cause the death of the hostages, death of more Israeli soldiers, and death of many more innocent Palestinians in Gaza,” said Guy Poran, a former Israeli air force pilot.
Read moreIsrael's security cabinet approves plan to take over Gaza City
Dire conditions
UN-backed experts have warned of widespread famine unfolding in the territory, where Israel has drastically curtailed the amount of humanitarian aid it allows in.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 235 people including 106 children have died of hunger since the war began in October 2023, with many cases recorded in recent weeks.
Netanyahu on Tuesday revived calls to “allow” Palestinians to leave Gaza, telling Israeli broadcaster i24NEWS that “we are not pushing them out, but we are allowing them to leave”.
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.
Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel which triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Of the 251 hostages taken during the attack, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s offensive has killed at least 61,722 Palestinians, according to figures from the health ministry in Gaza which the United Nations considers reliable.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
Russia slams Israel's plans to occupy Gaza, warns of consequences for Middle East region
'We believe that implementing such plans is extremely risky because it may lead to further degradation of the situation in occupied territories, with very serious negative consequences,' says Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman
Elena Teslova |13.08.2025 - TRT./AA
MOSCOW
Russia on Wednesday denounced Israel's plans to expand its military operation and occupy the entire Gaza Strip, warning that it would have far-reaching consequences for the Middle East region.
"We believe that implementing such plans is extremely risky because it may lead to further degradation of the situation in occupied territories, with very serious negative consequences both for Israel's own security and for the entire Middle East region," Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Alexey Fadeyev said in response to an Anadolu question at a press briefing in Moscow.
Fadeyev said that despite efforts by mediator countries, indirect contacts between the Palestinian group Hamas and Israeli authorities have produced no tangible results.
"Our immediate priority now is to prevent the complete destruction of Gaza and avoid an increase in civilian casualties. The only way to achieve these goals is through urgent agreement on a ceasefire," he stressed.
The official also urged both sides to urgently find mutually acceptable solutions and transition to a sustainable cessation-of-fire regime, noting that doing so would allow for practical steps toward long-term resolution of the Palestinian issue based on the well-known two-state international legal framework.
Israel is facing mounting condemnation for its genocidal war on Gaza, where it has killed nearly 61,600 victims since October 2023.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
Elena Teslova |13.08.2025 - TRT./AA
MOSCOW
Russia on Wednesday denounced Israel's plans to expand its military operation and occupy the entire Gaza Strip, warning that it would have far-reaching consequences for the Middle East region.
"We believe that implementing such plans is extremely risky because it may lead to further degradation of the situation in occupied territories, with very serious negative consequences both for Israel's own security and for the entire Middle East region," Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Alexey Fadeyev said in response to an Anadolu question at a press briefing in Moscow.
Fadeyev said that despite efforts by mediator countries, indirect contacts between the Palestinian group Hamas and Israeli authorities have produced no tangible results.
"Our immediate priority now is to prevent the complete destruction of Gaza and avoid an increase in civilian casualties. The only way to achieve these goals is through urgent agreement on a ceasefire," he stressed.
The official also urged both sides to urgently find mutually acceptable solutions and transition to a sustainable cessation-of-fire regime, noting that doing so would allow for practical steps toward long-term resolution of the Palestinian issue based on the well-known two-state international legal framework.
Israel is facing mounting condemnation for its genocidal war on Gaza, where it has killed nearly 61,600 victims since October 2023.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
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