Israel-Gaza war Highlights: ‘Not to occupy, to free Gaza from Hamas,’ says Netanyahu on takeover plan; UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday said his country will not authorise any exports of military equipment that could be used in Gaza “until further notice.” Germany has been a stalwart supporter of Israel for decades.

In a statement, Merz emphasised that Israel “has the right to defend itself against Hamas' terror” and said that the release of Israeli hostages and “purposeful” negotiations toward a cease-fire in the 22-month conflict “are our top priority.” He said Hamas must not have a role in the future of Gaza. (AP)

An Israeli airstrike on eastern Lebanon killed several people, including a senior member of a Palestinian group and his bodyguard as they were on their way to Syria, news reports and his group said Friday.

The Thursday afternoon airstrike near the Lebanese border crossing of Masnaa killed Mohammed Wishah, a member of the central committee of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the group said in a statement.

There was no immediate comment from Israel. (AP)

Israel's plan to intensify operations in Gaza is "a wrong move", Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp said on Friday.

"The plan of the Netanyahu government to intensify Israeli operations in Gaza is a wrong move. The (Gaza) humanitarian situation is catastrophic and demands immediate improvement. This decision in no way contributes to this and will also not help to get the hostages home," Veldkamp said in a statement on X. (Reuters)

Hamas on Friday described Israel's decision to take control of Gaza City as a "war crime", adding that the Israeli government "does not care about the fate of its hostages," news agency Reuters reported.

Earlier the United Nations urged Israel to end its occupation and achieve a two-State solution "giving Palestinians the right to self-determination," adding that any further escalation between the outfit and Israel would "result in more massive forced displacement, more killing, more unbearable suffering, senseless destruction and atrocity crimes.”

The Palestine Red Crescent Society has accused Israel forces of targeting Palestinian civilians waiting to receive aid in Gaza and killing one of its staff members.

"Today, our colleague Ashraf Suleiman Eid Yousef (44), a staff member in the administrative services department at the Sarayah field hospital in Gaza City, was killed after Israeli forces targeted a group of civilians while they were waiting to receive aid in the Kisufim area, east of the central governorate," the organisation wrote on X.

This brings the total number of PRCS team members killed to 53, the Guardian reported.

China expressed “serious concerns” over Israeli political-security cabinet's decision to seize Gaza City and urged it to “immediately cease its dangerous actions”, echoing the calls of UK PM Starmer.

“Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people and is an inseparable part of Palestinian territory,” the foreign ministry told news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) in a message.

“The correct way to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and to secure the release of hostages is an immediate ceasefire,” they added.

“A complete resolution to the Gaza conflict hinges on a ceasefire; only then can a path to de-escalation be paved and regional security ensured,” the spokesperson said.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday said Israel's decision to take control of Gaza City was wrong and urged the government in Jerusalem to reconsider. "The Israeli Government's decision to further escalate its offensive in Gaza is wrong, and we urge it to reconsider immediately," he said in a statement. "This action will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict or to help secure the release of the hostages. It will only bring more bloodshed."

Turkey condemns in the strongest terms Israel's plan to take control of Gaza City, the foreign ministry said on Friday, calling on the international community and United Nations Security Council to act to prevent the plan's implementation.

The ministry said Israel must immediately halt its war plans, agree a ceasefire in Gaza, and start negotiations for a two-state solution, saying each step by Israel's government to continue what Turkey called Israel's genocide and occupation of Palestinian lands dealt a heavy blow to global security.

(Reuters)

The Israeli government's plan for a full-scale military takeover of Gaza will cause more deaths and suffering and must be halted immediately, the United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Turk said on Friday. The plan runs contrary to the ruling of the International Court of Justice that Israel must bring its occupation to an end as soon as possible, to the realisation of the agreed two-state solution and to the right of Palestinians to self-determination, Turk said in a statement.

Israel's political-security cabinet approved a plan early on Friday to take control of Gaza City, as the country expands its military operations despite intensifying criticism at home and abroad over the devastating almost two-year-old war. Earlier Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel intended to take military control of the entire Gaza Strip.

"On all evidence to date, this further escalation will result in more massive forced displacement, more killing, more unbearable suffering, senseless destruction and atrocity crimes," Turk said. "Instead of intensifying this war, the Israeli Government should put all its efforts into saving the lives of Gaza's civilians by allowing the full, unfettered flow of humanitarian aid. The hostages must be immediately and unconditionally released by Palestinian armed groups."

(Reuters)