Israel Warns Gaza City Could Face Destruction Without Hamas’ Surrender

Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz warned on Friday that Gaza City could be destroyed unless Hamas accepts Israel’s conditions, as the country prepares for a major new offensive.

The warning came a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had authorised the military to begin a large-scale operation to seize Gaza City, Hamas’ main stronghold. Katz compared the looming assault to earlier battles in Rafah and Beit Hanoun, areas reduced to rubble in the ongoing war.

“The gates of hell will soon open on the heads of Hamas’ murderers and rapists in Gaza — until they agree to Israel’s conditions for ending the war,” Katz said in a post on X.

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Israel has laid out two key demands: the release of all hostages and Hamas’ complete disarmament. Hamas has offered to free captives in exchange for a permanent ceasefire but has rejected disarmament without the creation of a Palestinian state.

A wide-scale ground assault on Gaza City could begin within days. The city is both Hamas’ political and military hub, sitting atop what Israel says is an extensive tunnel network. It is also home to hundreds of thousands of civilians, along with key hospitals and infrastructure.

Earlier this week, Hamas claimed it had accepted a ceasefire proposal from Arab mediators involving phased prisoner exchanges and a pullback of Israeli forces. However, Israeli leaders remain divided, with Netanyahu’s coalition resisting terms similar to those abandoned earlier this year.

Critics warn a major assault could endanger the roughly 20 hostages believed to remain alive after Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack. Aid groups also say it would worsen Gaza’s humanitarian crisis, as repeated evacuation orders have left residents with nowhere safe to go. Medical organisations insist Israel’s calls to transfer patients south are unworkable given the lack of facilities.

Netanyahu has argued that the offensive is the only way to achieve both goals: “These two things — defeating Hamas and releasing all our hostages — go hand in hand,” he said Thursday while visiting a military command centre in southern Israel.

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