A United Nations official tells The Associated Press that if Israel’s military goes ahead with a planned offensive in Gaza City, then “all hope is gone that we’re ever going to see the end to this.".

Tanks and troops close in as Israel readies a massive Gaza City offensive—seen as the war’s defining battle—raising stakes for hostages and Hamas terrorists.

Witnesses say Israeli forces shot dead four Palestinian aid-seekers traveling through a military zone south of Gaza City that is regularly used to reach a food distribution point.

The attacks come as Israel finalises plans for an imminent assault aimed at occupying Gaza City, after Israel’s security cabinet approved Netanyahu’s plans to capture the northern city.View on euronew

It is still far from clear when and if Netanyahu will finally give the order to move the operation forward on a large scale. It seems as if for weeks now, the world has been waiting for an imminent hostage exchange and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas or an imminent invasion by the IDF of Gaza City (after multiple prior invasions).

The meeting took place amid mounting outrage over this week’s double Israeli strike on a southern Gaza hospital that killed journalists, emergency responders, and others.

The biggest single massacre of journalists in modern memory took place more than a decade and a half ago. About 100 armed men linked to a powerful local political clan in the southern Philippine province of Maguindanao ambushed and killed 58 people who were part of a convoy headed to register an opposition candidate in upcoming elections.