It quoted one of the officials as saying the incursion would be \u201cphased and gradual\u201d at the beginning.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.07 EDT<\/p>\n Here are some of the latest images coming in from Gaza City as the Israeli military intensifies its bombardment and there are reports thousands of Palestinians are fleeing.<\/p>\n Smoke from a building after an Israeli strike in Gaza City. Photograph: Yousef Al Zanoun\/APPalestinians move through Al-Rashid Street in Gaza City towards central Gaza using vehicles, horse carts and travelling on foot with their belongings. Photograph: Anadolu\/Getty ImagesPalestinians around the rubble of destroyed building. Photograph: Yousef Al Zanoun\/APPalestinians in Gaza City fleeing southward amid the attacks. Photograph: Anadolu\/Getty ImagesSmoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of Gaza City, as seen from Israel\u2019s side of the border. Photograph: Atef Safadi\/EPAPalestinians amid the rubble of a Gaza City building destroyed in an Israeli strike. Photograph: Yousef Al Zanoun\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n US secretary of state Marco Rubio<\/strong> said as he headed to Qatar on Tuesday that he would ask it to stay on as a mediator in the Gaza war, a week after Israeli airstrikes against Hamas leaders in Doha.<\/p>\n Rubio expressed pessimism about a ceasefire deal as he flew out from Tel Aviv amid the IDF\u2019s intensified bombardment of Gaza<\/a> but told reporters that Qatar uniquely could help, Agence France-Presse reports.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to ask Qatar to continue to do what they\u2019ve done, and we appreciate very much, and that is, play a constructive role in trying to bring this to an end,\u201d Rubio told reporters at Tel Aviv\u2019s Ben Gurion airport.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously they have to decide if they want to do that after last week or not, but we want them to know that if there\u2019s any country in the world that could help end this through a negotiation, it\u2019s Qatar.\u201d<\/p>\n Rubio said the US would work with Qatar to finalise a defence agreement soon despite the Israeli military action last week.<\/p>\n President Donald Trump<\/strong> told reporters in Washington that prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu<\/strong> \u201cwon\u2019t be hitting\u201d Qatar again.<\/p>\n Rubio made no such comments in Israel<\/strong>. Speaking next to Netanyahu, Rubio was reticent on praising Qatar, saying only that it was important to look forward after the strike.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The United Nations rapporteur on human rights in the occupied territories, Francesca Albanese<\/strong>, has said the aim of the Gaza<\/a> City offensive is to make it uninhabitable.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the last piece of Gaza that needs to be rendered unliveable,\u201d she said on Monday.<\/p>\n But the Israeli mission to the UN rejected her remarks, blaming Hamas for the destruction, Julian Borger<\/a> has reported, while Benjamin Netanyahu<\/strong> defended Israel\u2019s tactics. \u201cWe\u2019re not bringing down those towers [in Gaza City] to intimidate people,\u201d the Israeli prime minister said. \u201cThose towers are serving as Hamas strongholds.\u201d<\/p>\n The Israeli military\u2019s chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir<\/strong>, is widely reported to have deep misgivings about the Gaza City offensive, arguing it would not destroy Hamas and would be costly in the lives of Israeli soldiers and hostages.<\/p>\n You can read Borger\u2019s report here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Before today\u2019s Israeli military actions, the Israel Defense Forces have been destroying blocks of flats across Gaza City and ordering its inhabitants to evacuate<\/a>, drawing international condemnation, as Julian Borger has reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tens of thousands of Palestinians have fled Gaza<\/a> City for the south, but most of the estimated million people sheltering in the urban sprawl have opted to stay, either because they are unable to move or because they have nowhere to go.<\/p>\n Humanitarian agencies have said there is nowhere left in Gaza that is safe or suitable for displaced people, the report continues.<\/p>\n The UN relief agency, Unrwa, said 10 of its buildings had been hit by Israeli strikes in the past four days, including seven schools and two clinics.<\/p>\n Ther aftermath of an Israeli attack that destroyed al-Ghafri Tower in Gaza City. Photograph: Anadolu\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.23 EDT<\/p>\n Palestinian residents have reported heavy strikes across Gaza<\/a> City.<\/p>\n One overnight strike hit a house in the western side of Gaza City, killing at least five Palestinians including two children, according to the Shifa hospital, which the received the bodies.<\/p>\n Another strike hit at least three houses in the south-western side of the city, the Associated Press reports residents as saying. Medics were searching the rubble for survivors.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a heavy night,\u201d said Radwan Hayder<\/strong>, a Gaza City resident sheltering near the Shifa hospital.<\/p>\n The Israeli military has not responded to questions for hours over whether the expanded offensive has begun.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.22 EDT<\/p>\n As just reported, Marco Rubio<\/strong> warned Hamas today that it only has days to accept a ceasefire deal amid Israel\u2019s bombardment of Gaza City.<\/p>\n \u201cOur number one choice is that this ends through a negotiated settlement where Hamas<\/a> says, \u2018We\u2019re going to demilitarise, we\u2019re no longer going to pose a threat,\u2019\u201d the US secretary of state told reporters as he flew out of Israel to go to Qatar.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes when you\u2019re dealing with a group of savages like Hamas, that\u2019s not possible, but we hope it can happen,\u201d Rubio said.<\/p>\n Marco Rubio speaking to media at Ben Gurion international airport as he departs Tel Aviv on Tuesday. Photograph: Nathan Howard\/AP<\/p>\n Agence France-Presse also reports that Rubio met with Benjamin Netanyahu<\/strong> in Jerusalem on Monday and gave his support to the Israeli prime minister\u2019s new offensive in Gaza<\/a> City and its stated goal of eradicating Hamas.<\/p>\n Witnesses later told AFP the city was under heavy bombardment.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.58 EDT<\/p>\n Opening summary After a night of reports of intense bombardment of Gaza City, Israel\u2019s defence minister, Israel<\/a> Katz, appears to have declared a new phase in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) offensive against the already devastated urban sprawl where hundreds of thousands of people are sheltering.<\/p>\n \u201cGaza is burning,\u201d Katz said on Tuesday morning. He added \u201cthe IDF is striking terror infrastructure with an iron fist\u201d.<\/p>\n![\"Julian](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Julian_Borger.png\")
Julian Borger<\/p>\n