Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip “will escalate”, the country’s chief military spokesperson has warned, as troops push deeper into the region.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israel Defence Forces (IDF) troops are deployed along the northern border and “prepared for any scenario”.
Dozens of militants were killed overnight, he added, but he refused to confirm the location of the ground forces after social media footage appeared to show tanks advancing on a main road in Gaza.
Israeli advances put their forces on both sides of Gaza City and surrounding areas of the north, in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a “second stage” in the war.
“Our activities and operations will continue and escalate according to the stages of the war,” Mr Hagari said.
“This is an expanded ground operation into the strip. Ground forces, tanks, infantry forces, armoured corp forces are moving towards the terrorists.
“The terrorists grouped together in certain areas to try to target our forces and we attack them from the air, that’s how we managed to assault and target 20 terrorists.
“There is also direct contact between the ground forces and the terrorists. The fighting is going on inside the Gaza Strip.”
Image: Palestinians check damage to houses in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip
In other key developments: • A German-Israeli woman kidnapped from a music festival by Hamas fighters has been found dead, Israel’s foreign ministry says; • A 25-year-old man is in a critical condition after being stabbed in Jerusalem, with the attack understood to have been carried out by a Palestinian man; • Anti-Israel protesters stormed a runway in Russia, reportedly chanting antisemitic slogans and looking for passengers on a flight from Tel Aviv; • British citizens trapped in Gaza ‘could be classed as hostages’, a minister suggests.
UN and medical staff warned airstrikes are getting closer to hospitals, where thousands are wounded and tens of thousands have sought refuge.
According to UN figures, about 117,000 displaced people are staying in hospitals alongside thousands of patients and staff.
Image: The Israeli military said it was continuing ground operations in the Gaza Strip. Pic: AP
Meanwhile, talks to free the 239 hostages held by Hamas since the group’s 7 October attack in Israel have stalled, according to NBC News, Sky’s US partner network.
The report refers to a former US official with knowledge of the negotiations, who said the militant group had demanded Israel allow fuel deliveries into Gaza.
Tank ‘blocks key escape road’
As Israel presses ahead, video obtained by the Associated Press showed an Israeli tank and bulldozer in central Gaza.
They appear to be blocking the territory’s main north-south highway, which the Israeli military had told Palestinians to use to escape its ground offensive.
Asked if forces were on the road, Mr Hagari said Israel has “expanded” operations but would not comment on specific deployments.
The video shows a car approaching a barrier across the road, before turning around. The tank appears to open fire as it heads away and an explosion sets the car on fire.
The Gaza health ministry later said three people died – and it now reports 8,306 Palestinians have died in total.
More than 1,400 people have died on the Israeli side, according to the country’s government, with mainly civilians killed during Hamas’ initial attack.
Stabbing in Jerusalem
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
1:47
Man, 25, stabbed in Jerusalem
As the conflict in Gaza continues to cause tension elsewhere, a 25-year-old man was stabbed in Jerusalem on Monday, according to an Israeli volunteer emergency service.
Sky News correspondent Cordelia Lynch, who is in Jerusalem, said a “large crowd” had gathered, and a “number of security forces” arrived.
She understands the injured man was a border police officer and was stabbed by a Palestinian man, who is now dead.
A spokesperson for Ihud Hatzala said volunteers had provided the injured man with first aid.
The spokesperson added: “When we arrived at the scene we encountered a stab wound in his upper body, we gave him first medical aid at the scene and then he was taken in a police ambulance to the Hadassah Hera Tesov Hospital, where his condition at this stage is determined to be critical.”
Israel has resumed airdrops of aid into Gaza, as reports and condemnation of starvation and famine continue to spread.
In a statement, the Israel Defence Forces added that humanitarian corridors would also be established for United Nations convoys to deliver aid into the region, though it did not say when or where.
While the IDF “emphasises that combat operations have not ceased” – and reiterated claims there is “no starvation” in Gaza – it said: “The airdrops will include seven pallets of aid containing flour, sugar and canned food to be provided by international organisations.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:52
People in Gaza jump on food trucks
The military added that it is prepared to implement “humanitarian pauses” in densely populated areas.
Reports suggest aid has already been dropped into Gaza, with some injured after fighting broke out.
He told Sky News: “This month, up to now, 1,000 children or 1,000 people have died of starvation. I’m really not interested in what either of these sides are saying.”
More on Gaza
Related Topics:
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
On Saturday, reports referencing US government data said that there was no evidence Hamashad stolen aid from UN agencies.
The IDF’s international spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani, described such reports as “fake news” and said Hamas thefts have been “well documented”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
3:49
Malnourished girl: ‘The war changed me’
Airdrops ‘expensive and inefficient’
It comes as the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said that, as of Saturday, 127 people have died from malnutrition-related causes, including 85 children.
They include a five-month-old girl who weighed less than when she was born, with a doctor at Nasser Hospital describing it as a case of “severe, severe starvation”.
Health workers have also been weakened by hunger, with some putting themselves on IV drips so they can keep treating badly malnourished patients.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
2:10
Aid waiting to be distributed in Gaza
On Friday, Israel said it would allow foreign countries to airdrop aid into Gaza – but the UN Relief and Works Agency has warned this will not reverse “deepening starvation”.
UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini described the method as “expensive” and “inefficient”, adding: “It is a distraction and screensmoke. A manmade hunger can only be addressed by political will.
“Lift the siege, open the gates and guarantee safe movements and dignified access to people in need.”
He added that UNRWA has the equivalent of 6,000 trucks in Jordan and Egypt waiting for permission to enter Gaza.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
1:17
PM says UK will help drop aid to Gaza
MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, warned on Friday that 25% of young children and pregnant women in Gaza are now malnourished, and said the lack of food and water on the ground was “unconscionable”.
The UN also estimates that Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 people seeking food – the majority near the militarised distribution sites of the US-backed aid distribution scheme run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
In a statement on Friday, the IDF had said it “categorically rejects the claims of intentional harm to civilians”, and reports of incidents at aid distribution sites were “under examination”.
The GHF has also previously disputed that these deaths were connected with its organisation’s operations, with director Johnnie Moore telling Sky News: “We just want to feed Gazans. That’s the only thing that we want to do.”
Bob Geldof has accused the Israeli authorities of “lying” about starvation in Gaza – after Israel’s government spokesperson claimed there was “no famine caused by Israel”.
Earlier this week, David Mencer claimed that Hamas “starves its own people” while on The News Hour with Mark Austin, denying that Israel was responsible for mass hunger in Gaza.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
11:30
Israel challenged on starvation in Gaza
Mr Phillips asked the Live Aid organiser: “The Israeli view is that there is no famine caused by Israel, there’s a manmade shortage, but it’s been engineered by Hamas.
“I guess the Israelis would say we don’t see much criticism from your side of Hamas.”
In response, Geldof said “that’s a false equivalence” and “the Israeli authorities are lying”.
The singer then added: “They’re lying. [Benjamin] Netanyahu lies, is a liar. The IDF are lying. They’re dangling food in front of starving, panicked, exhausted mothers.
“And while they arrive to accept the tiny amount of food that this sort of set up pantomime outfit, the Gaza Humanitarian Front, I would call it, as they dangle it, then they’re shot wantonly.
“This month, up to now, a thousand children or a thousand people have died of starvation. I’m really not interested in what either of these sides are saying.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
7:41
Gaza: ‘This is man-made starvation’
In the interview with Mark Austin on 23 July, Mr Mencer added: “This suffering exists because Hamas made it so. Here are the facts. Aid is flowing, through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Millions of meals are being delivered directly to civilians.” He also claimed that since May more than 4,400 aid trucks had entered Gaza carrying supplies.
It comes after MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, warned 25% of young children and pregnant women in Gaza are now malnourished.
The charity said Israel’s “deliberate use of starvation as a weapon” has reached unprecedented levels, and said that at one of its clinics in Gaza City, rates of severe malnutrition in children under five have trebled over the past two weeks.
MSF then called the lack of food and water on the ground as “unconscionable”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
2:10
Aid waiting to be distributed in Gaza
In a statement to Sky News, an Israeli security official said that “despite the false claims that are being spread, the State of Israel does not limit the number of humanitarian aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip”.
It then blamed other groups for issues delivering aid. They said: “Over the past month, we have witnessed a significant decline in the collection of aid from the crossings into the Gaza Strip by international aid organisations.
“The delays in collection by the UN and international organisations harm the situation and the food security of Gaza’s residents.”
The IDF also told Sky News: “The IDF allows the American civilian organisation (GHF) to distribute aid to Gaza residents independently, and operates in proximity to the new distribution zones to enable the distribution alongside the continuation of IDF operational activities in the Gaza Strip.
“Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted in the Southern Command and instructions were issued to forces in the field following lessons learned.
“The aforementioned incidents are under review by the competent authorities in the IDF.”
You can watch the full interview on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips at 8.30am tomorrow.
A charity has warned 25% of young children and pregnant women in Gaza are now malnourished, with Sir Keir Starmer vowing to evacuate children who need “critical medical assistance” to the UK.
MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, said Israel’s “deliberate use of starvation as a weapon” has reached unprecedented levels – with patients and healthcare workers both fighting to survive.
It claimed that, at one of its clinics in Gaza City, rates of severe malnutrition in children under five have trebled over the past two weeks – and described the lack of food and water on the ground as “unconscionable”.
Image: Pic: Reuters
The charity also criticised the high number of fatalities seen at aid distribution sites, with one British surgeon accusing IDF soldiers of shooting civilians “almost like a game of target practice”.
MSF’s deputy medical coordinator in Gaza, Dr Mohammed Abu Mughaisib, said: “Those who go to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s food distributions know that they have the same chance of receiving a sack of flour as they do of leaving with a bullet in their head.”
The UN also estimates that Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 people seeking food – the majority near the militarised distribution sites of the US-backed aid distribution scheme run by the GHF.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
1:20
‘Many more deaths unless Israelis allow food in’
In a statement on Friday, the IDF had said it “categorically rejects the claims of intentional harm to civilians”, and reports of incidents at aid distribution sites were “under examination”.
The GHF has also previously disputed that these deaths were connected with its organisation’s operations, with director Johnnie Moore telling Sky News: “We just want to feed Gazans. That’s the only thing that we want to do.”
Israel says it has let enough food into Gaza and has accused the UN of failing to distribute it, in what the foreign ministry has labelled as “a deliberate ploy” to defame the country.
X
This content is provided by X, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable X cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to X cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow X cookies for this session only.
In a video message posted on X late last night, Sir Keir Starmer condemned the scenes in Gaza as “appalling” and “unrelenting” – and said “the images of starvation and desperation are utterly horrifying”.
The prime minister added: “The denial of aid to children and babies is completely unjustifiable, just as the continued captivity of hostages is completely unjustifiable.
“Hundreds of civilians have been killed while seeking aid – children, killed, whilst collecting water. It is a humanitarian catastrophe, and it must end.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
2:10
Israeli military show aid waiting inside Gaza
Sir Keir confirmed that the British government is now “accelerating efforts” to evacuate children from Gaza who need critical medical assistance, so they can be brought to the UK for specialist treatment.
Israel has now said that foreign countries will be able to airdrop aid into Gaza. While the PM says the UK will now “do everything we can” to get supplies in via this route, he said this decision has come “far too late”.
Last year, the RAF dropped aid into Gaza, but humanitarian organisations warned it wasn’t enough and was potentially dangerous. In March 2024, five people were killed when an aid parachute failed and supplies fell on them.
The prime minister is instead demanding a ceasefire and “lasting peace” – and says he will only consider an independent state as part of a negotiated peace deal.