Israel declares Gaza’s largest city a combat zone as death toll surpasses 63,000

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel declared Gaza’s largest city a dangerous combat zone and recovered the remains of two hostages on Friday as the army launched the “initial stages” of a planned offensive that has drawn international condemnation.

As the military announced the resumption of fighting, health officials said the death toll in Gaza has risen to 63,025, with 59 new deaths reported by hospitals over the last 24 hours. Aid groups and a church sheltering people said they would stay in Gaza City, refusing to abandon the hungry and displaced who depend on them.

The shift comes weeks after Israel first announced plans to widen its offensive in the city, where hundreds of thousands are sheltering while enduring famine. The military has in recent days ramped up strikes in neighborhoods on the city’s outskirts.

Plumes of smoke and thunderous blasts could be seen and heard across the border in southern Israel on Friday morning.

Israel has called Gaza City a Hamas stronghold, alleging that a network of tunnels remain in use by militants after several previous large-scale raids on the area throughout nearly 23 months of war.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has argued that crippling Hamas’ capabilities in the city is critical to shielding Israel from a repeat of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war.

While United Nations agencies and aid groups condemned the offensive’s announced start, people in Gaza City said it made little difference: Strikes already have been intensifying and the aid reaching them was insufficient.

City resident Mohamed Aboul Hadi said it made no difference. “The massacres never stopped, even during the humanitarian pauses,” he said in a text message sent from Gaza City.

Some who fled Gaza City were putting together tents Friday in the central Gaza Strip, west of the Nuseirat refugee camp. They spoke about the lack of water or food and the miserable conditions they endured.

“We are thrown in the streets like, what would I say? Like dogs? We are not like dogs. Dogs are better than us,” said Mohammed Maarouf standing in front of a shelter for him and his family of nine.

More than 63,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war started, the Gaza Health Ministry said Friday. The ministry’s count — 63,025 — does not distinguish between fighters and civilians. It also said five people had died from malnutrition-related causes over the past 24 hours, raising the toll to 322, including 121 children, since the war began.

The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The U.N. and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own.

Some refuse to leave as Gaza City assault begins

Facing international criticism, Israel instituted what it called “tactical pauses” in Gaza City and two other populated areas last month that it said were geared toward letting in more food and aid. The pauses included a daily halt in fighting from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., though aid groups have said deliveries remained challenging due to blockade, looting and Israeli restrictions.

Midday Friday, the military said it had suspended pauses, marking the latest escalation after weeks of preparatory strikes in some of the city’s neighborhoods and calling up tens of thousands of reservists.

“We will intensify our strikes until we bring back all the kidnapped hostages and dismantle Hamas,” Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said.

Adraee, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, has for days urged Palestinians in Gaza City to flee south, calling evacuation “inevitable.”

Hundreds of residents began the journey south on Friday, piling their few remaining possessions onto pickup trucks or donkey carts. Many, like Mohammed Maarouf, have been forced to leave their homes more than once.

The U.N. said Thursday that 23,000 people had evacuated over the past week, but many Palestinians in Gaza City question the effort when there is nowhere safe to go.

“We cannot find any place in the west nor in the south. Conditions are difficult. Where are we going? We don’t know,” said Saddam Yazigi as he prepared to leave Gaza City.

The Holy Family Church of Gaza City told The Associated Press on Friday that the roughly 440 people sheltering there would remain along with members of the clergy who would assist them.

Farid Jubran said the church had left the decision up to the people even though they had little recourse to insulate themselves from fighting.

“When we feel danger, people get closer to the walls or whatever, it’s more protected,” he said, noting the church had few specific defenses.

The UN’s humanitarian agency said its staff and NGOs also would remain on the ground.

Aid groups say they weren’t notified

As Israel suspended pauses on Friday in Gaza City, the military did not say whether they had notified residents or aid groups of the impending declaration ahead of the 11:30 a.m. announcement.

The Norwegian Refugee Council, which coordinates a coalition of aid groups active in Gaza, said it had not received notification that Israel’s “tactical pauses” would be suspended.

The U.N. said Thursday the besieged strip could lose half of its hospital bed capacity during an expanded assault on Gaza City.

“We cannot provide health services to 2 million people besieged in the south,” said Zaher al-Wahidi, a spokesperson for Gaza’s Health Ministry, noting a forcible evacuation of the strip’s largest city would be an environmental and health catastrophe.

The suspension of the pause also comes one week after the world’s leading food security authority declared Gaza City was being gripped by famine after months of warnings.

An Israeli military official said Israel intended to continue facilitating aid to Gaza City. But the official provided no details on how they would continue to get aid amid a ramped-up offensive.

“This will have a horrific impact on people already exhausted, malnourished, bereaved, displaced, and deprived of basics needed for survival,” the UN’s humanitarian agency said in a statement. “Forcing hundreds of thousands to move south is a recipe for further disaster.”

Remains of hostages recovered

Israel on Friday said its military had recovered the remains of two hostages — Ilan Weiss and another left unnamed.

“The campaign to return the hostages continues continuously. We will not rest or be silent until we return all of our hostages home — both the living and the dead,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

Abu Obeida, a spokesperson for Hamas’ armed wing, said its fighters were on high alert and prepared to confront Israeli troops in Gaza City. He said the group would try to keep its hostages alive but that they are being held in areas where fighting is expected.

Weiss, 55, was killed in the attack on Kibbutz Be’eri, one of the communities near Gaza that Hamas-led militants stormed on Oct. 7.

For the families of hostages, the return of their remains meets a central demand and brings some closure, but also is a reminder of hostages who remain in Gaza.

“At least they have closure,” said Rubi Chen, whose son was abducted during the Oct. 7 attack and is believed to be dead. “There are still 49 families waiting to have that closure.”

Of the 251 hostages taken by Hamas-led militants, nearly 50 remain in Gaza including 20 that Israel believes to be alive.

Israel’s Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which has organized large-scale protests demanding a ceasefire to return the hostages, mourned the losses and said Israeli leaders should prioritize a deal to return both the living and the dead.

“We call on the Israeli government to enter negotiations and stay at the table until every last hostage comes home. Time is running out for the hostages,” it said in a statement.

Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals.

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Metz and Frankel reported from Jerusalem. Shlomo Mor in southern Israel, Ibrahim Hazboun in Jerusalem and Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia, Cyprus, contributed to this report.

Wafaa Shurafa, Sam Metz And Julia Frankel, The Associated Press