GazaHerald – Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz declared on Friday that “the gates of hell have been opened in Gaza City,” as the Israeli army expanded its assault, leveling residential towers, striking displaced families, and issuing new evacuation orders amid a spiraling humanitarian catastrophe.
Katz announced that the military campaign will intensify until Hamas accepts Israel’s conditions: the release of all hostages and either disarmament or destruction. “The army’s operations will intensify until Hamas accepts our conditions to end the war,” he said. “The gates of hell will be opened in Gaza City.”
On Friday, Israeli forces completely demolished the Al-Moshata Tower after repeated shelling, claiming it concealed Hamas tunnels. The tower’s management categorically rejected the accusation, stating that since being targeted last year, it has been used solely as shelter for displaced civilians and contained neither weapons nor military facilities. “We categorically deny the lies spread by the Israeli army,” the management said.
At least 68 Palestinians, including many children, were killed in Israeli airstrikes on homes and tents of displaced people across Gaza City the same day, according to local hospitals. The army also issued new evacuation orders in multiple neighborhoods, including Sheikh Radwan, signaling a broader assault.
The escalation comes as Gaza sinks deeper into famine and displacement. UNICEF warned that “the unimaginable” is already happening in Gaza City, where nearly one million people remain trapped. “Childhood cannot survive here,” said UNICEF spokesperson Tess Ingram, describing children weakened by starvation, stripped of shelter and care, and terrorized by bombardment.
The World Health Organization echoed the alarm
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at least 370 people have died of malnutrition since the conflict began in October 2023, including more than 300 in the past two months alone. “Starving civilians as a weapon of war is a war crime that can never be acceptable,” he said, stressing that hunger “will not bring security to Israel, nor the release of the hostages.”
On Friday, Hamas’s armed wing released a video showing two Israeli captives inside Gaza City. One captive, speaking in Hebrew, begged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to launch a full-scale assault, warning that he and eight other hostages would die if the offensive proceeded. “I heard that the army is about to attack Gaza City. I am terrified by this idea… we will die here,” he said.
The footage sparked calls from far-right Israeli officials for harsher measures. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir urged “complete occupation, total annihilation, and massive encouragement of migration,” claiming only this could secure the hostages’ release.
As Israel widens its offensive under the banner of crushing Hamas, the combination of relentless airstrikes, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, and deliberate starvation has created what international agencies warn is a catastrophe without precedent. UNICEF has sounded the alarm about famine and mass displacement, while the WHO insists the disaster could be halted immediately if Israel stopped using hunger as a weapon of war.
