Trump to sign wide-ranging bilateral deals with Armenia and Azerbaijan
The peace agreement to be signed by Azerbaijan and Armenia on Friday will be accompanied by bilateral deals on energy, technology, trade, infrastructu...
Israel’s Security Cabinet has approved a new military plan to take control of Gaza City, marking a significant escalation in its nearly two-year conflict with Hamas and raising alarm among humanitarian agencies over the deepening crisis for civilians in the enclave.
The decision, taken in the early hours of Friday, follows comments by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who stated that Israel intends to achieve full military control over the Gaza Strip but does not seek to govern it.
“We intend to, in order to assure our security, remove Hamas there, enable the population to be free of Gaza, and to pass it to civilian governance that is not Hamas and not anyone advocating the destruction of Israel,” Netanyahu said on Thursday.
A new ground offensive
Under the new military plan, Israeli forces are preparing for a fresh ground offensive focused on northern Gaza, issuing evacuation warnings for civilians to leave designated combat zones. Netanyahu’s office said that humanitarian aid would be delivered to areas outside of active military operations.
However, aid organisations have warned that the humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached catastrophic levels, and safe areas for displaced civilians are increasingly scarce.
The planned offensive comes at a time when more than 75% of the Gaza Strip is already under Israeli control, according to Israeli military assessments. Hamas continues to hold out in scattered pockets of resistance, primarily in Gaza City and its outskirts.
Reversal of the 2005 withdrawal
If carried out, the full takeover of Gaza City would represent a dramatic reversal of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s 2005 disengagement from the territory. It also signals a shift in Israel’s approach to the war from limited operations targeting Hamas infrastructure to comprehensive territorial control.
“This is not just a military manoeuvre- it is a political and strategic reset,” said one Israeli official familiar with the plan, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The Cabinet sees Gaza City as a final stronghold that must be neutralised.”
Voices from Gaza
Palestinians in Gaza, however, view the move as yet another devastating blow in an already unlivable situation. In a voice filled with despair, Mahmoud al-Qurashli, a displaced resident from eastern Gaza, said, “Netanyahu’s decision to occupy Gaza- it’s like there’s nothing left to occupy in the first place."
"We’re already dying, a hundred thousand deaths every day," al Qurashi explained. "Around a 100 to 150 people die daily, from starvation on top of everything else we’re going through.”
He added that most of the remaining population has been pushed into the western part of Gaza City, a shrinking space now overflowing with displaced families, rubble, and dwindling resources.
Famine on the horizon
The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate at alarming speed. The United Nations Human Rights agency estimates that over 500,000 people in Gaza are now facing famine conditions. Access to food, clean water, and medical supplies remains limited, and aid convoys are often unable to reach those in need due to security constraints.
Aid groups warn that with each passing day, Gaza is inching closer to a full-scale humanitarian collapse. "We are no longer talking about risk- we are talking about reality," said one aid worker.
"Children are starving, hospitals are out of medicine, and people are drinking contaminated water. The world must act now."
A turning point in the conflict
With Israel poised to assert full control over Gaza City, the next phase of the war may prove to be the most consequential yet. What began as a campaign to dismantle Hamas has now become a battle over the future of Gaza itself and the lives of the more than 2 million people trapped within it.
As international mediators call for restraint and humanitarian corridors, the question now is whether this escalation will bring stability or usher in further chaos.
The world’s biggest dance music festival faces an unexpected setback as a fire destroys its main stage, prompting a last-minute response from organisers determined to keep the party alive in Boom, Belgium.
According to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), a magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the Oaxaca region of Mexico on Saturday.
China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will send an upgraded ‘version 3.0’ free-trade agreement to their heads of government for approval in October, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday after regional talks in Kuala Lumpur.
A resumption of Iraq’s Kurdish oil exports is not expected in the near term, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, despite an announcement by Iraq’s federal government a day earlier stating that shipments would resume immediately.
Chinese automaker Chery has denied an industry-ministry audit that disqualified more than $53 million in state incentives for thousands of its electric and hybrid vehicles, insisting it followed official guidance and committed no fraud.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Friday that a pause in the conflict in Ukraine may be approaching, following a conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is working urgently to mend strained ties with Mexico, after relations collapsed late last year when Canadian officials indicated a preference for pursuing a U.S. trade deal without Mexico.
U.S. President Donald Trump should proceed with imposing additional sanctions on Russia, as they could help bring the war in Ukraine to an end, Finland’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said on Friday in a Reuters NEXT Newsmaker interview.
Russia and Ukraine have traded fresh strikes amid mounting international pressure to end the ongoing conflict, as the Kremlin confirms that President Vladimir Putin will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in the coming days.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance has arrived in the UK for a working visit with Foreign Secretary David Lammy, as political tensions and protests loom over U.S. foreign policy.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment