Palestinians reported the heaviest bombardments in weeks on Monday (August 11, 2025) in areas east of Gaza City, simply hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated he anticipated to full a brand new expanded offensive within the enclave “fairly quickly”.
An airstrike additionally killed six journalists, together with distinguished Al Jazeera correspondent Anas Al Sharif, in a tent on the Al Shifa Hospital compound.
Witnesses stated Israeli tanks and planes pounded Sabra, Zeitoun, and Shejaia, three japanese suburbs of Gaza City within the north of the territory, on Monday (August 11, 2025), pushing many households out of their properties westwards. Some Gaza City residents stated it was one of many worst nights in weeks, elevating fears of army preparations for a deeper offensive into their metropolis, which in accordance to Palestinian militant group Hamas is now sheltering about 1 million individuals after the displacement of residents from the enclave’s northern edges.
The Israeli army stated its forces fired artillery at Hamas militants within the space. There was no signal on the bottom of forces shifting deeper into Gaza City as a part of the newly authorized Israeli offensive, which isn’t anticipated to start within the coming weeks. “It sounded like the war was restarting,” stated Amr Salah, 25. “Tanks fired shells at houses, and several houses were hit, and the planes carried what we call fire rings, whereby several missiles landed on some roads in eastern Gaza,” he informed Reuters by way of a chat app.
The Israeli army stated its forces on Sunday (August 10, 2025) dismantled a launch web site east of Gaza City, which Hamas used to fireplace rockets in direction of Israeli communities throughout the border.
Mr. Netanyahu on Sunday (August 10, 2025) stated he had instructed the Israeli army to pace up its plans for the brand new offensive.
“I want to end the war as quickly as possible, and that is why I have instructed the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) to shorten the schedule for seizing control of Gaza City,” he stated.
Mr. Netanyahu on Sunday (August 10, 2025) stated the brand new offensive will concentrate on Gaza City, which he described as Hamas’ “capital of terrorism”. He additionally pointed to a map and indicated that the coastal space of central Gaza could also be subsequent, saying Hamas militants have been pushed there too.
The new plans have raised alarm overseas. On Friday, Germany, a key European ally, introduced it could halt exports of army gear to Israel that may very well be utilized in Gaza. Britain and different European allies urged Israel to rethink its resolution to escalate the Gaza army marketing campaign.
Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, informed Reuters that some nations appeared to be placing stress on Israel somewhat than on Hamas, whose lethal assault on Israel on October 7, 2023, ignited the warfare.
Journalists killed
The airstrike that killed Al Jazeera’s Anas Al Sharif and 4 of his colleagues at Al Shifa Hospital was the deadliest for journalists within the battle to date and was condemned by journalists and rights teams.
Medics on the hospital stated on Monday that native freelancer Mohammad Al-Khaldi had additionally died within the assault, elevating the variety of lifeless journalists from the identical strike to six.
Al Sharif had beforehand been threatened by Israel, which confirmed it had focused and killed him, alleging he had headed a Hamas cell and was concerned in rocket assaults in opposition to Israel. Al Jazeera rejected the declare, and earlier than his demise, Al Sharif had additionally rejected Israeli allegations that he had hyperlinks to Hamas.
Hamas, which runs Gaza, linked his killing to the brand new deliberate offensive.
“The assassination of journalists and the intimidation of those who remain pave the way for a major crime that the occupation is planning to commit in Gaza City,” it stated.
The Hamas-run Gaza authorities media workplace stated 238 journalists have been killed in nearly two years of warfare. The Committee to Protect Journalists stated no less than 186 journalists have been killed.
Hamas-led fighters triggered the warfare in October 2023, after they stormed into Israel, killing 1,200 individuals and taking 251 hostages, by Israeli tallies. About 50 hostages are nonetheless in Gaza, however solely round 20 are thought to be alive.
More than 61,000 Palestinians have since been killed by Israel’s marketing campaign, in accordance to Gaza well being officers. Most of Gaza’s inhabitants has been displaced a number of occasions and its residents are dealing with a humanitarian disaster, with swaths of the territory diminished to rubble.
