Gaza latest: Netanyahu defends plan to occupy Gaza City, says offensive will start soon; UN warns of ‘calamity’ – UK Times

Al Jazeera Media Network condemned what it called the “targeted assassination” of its correspondents Anas Al Sharif and Mohammed Qraiqea, and photographers Ibrahim Al Thaher and Mohamed Nofal, in Gaza.

The network said the journalists were killed when Israeli forces directed an attack on a tent where they were stationed opposite Al-Shifa Medical Complex.

“The order to assassinate Anas Al Sharif, one of Gaza’s bravest journalists, and his colleagues, is a desperate attempt to silence the voices exposing the impending seizure and occupation of Gaza,” the statement read.

It said Anas and his colleagues were among the last remaining voices from within Gaza providing the world with “unfiltered, on-the-ground coverage of the devastating realities endured by its people”.

Al Jazeera said that 10 of its journalists had been killed since Israel launched its war on Gaza in 2023.

Israel’s military claimed late on Sunday that Al-Sharif had “posed as a journalist”, confirming it had targeted and killed him.

Israel faced sharp condemnation at the UN on Sunday, with the UK, Russia, China, France and others warning that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s military plan for Gaza would amount to “further violations of international law.”

“If these plans are implemented, they will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza, reverberating across the region and causing further forced displacement, killings, and destruction – compounding the unbearable suffering of the population,” said Miroslav Jenča, the UN assistant secretary-general for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas.

Ramesh Rajasingham, the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva said what is happening in Gaza “is no longer a looming hunger crisis – this is starvation, pure and simple.”

Deaths related to hunger are climbing in Gaza, particularly among severely malnourished children, Mr Rajasingham told the UN Security Council.

According to the Gaza health ministry run by Hamas, at least 98 children have died from severe acute malnutrition, 37 of them since 1 July.

An Israeli airstrike killed Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif and four other journalists in Gaza City, the broadcaster said.

Al-Sharif, 28, one of the news channel’s most prominent voices in Gaza, was killed alongside reporter Mohammed Qreiqeh, and cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa.

The director of Shifa hospital, Dr Muhammad Abu Salmiya, told The Independent that in total seven people were killed in the strike, which hit a tent where they were sheltering within the Shifa medical complex in Gaza City.

A lengthy heartbreaking statement posted to Al-Sharif’s X account after his death read: “This is my last will and testament. If these words of mine reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice.”

The message concluded: “Do not forget Gaza… And do not forget me in your sincere prayers for forgiveness and acceptance.” Shortly before his death, he posted that there was “non-stop bombing” in the area.

Read Bel Tew’s report from Jerusalem

Australia will recognise a Palestinian state, prime minister Anthony Albanese said Monday, joining the leaders of France, Britain and Canada in the decision as concerns mount over Israel’s takeover of Gaza .

His remarks followed weeks of urging from within his Cabinet and from many in Australia to recognise a Palestinian state and amid growing criticism from officials in his government over suffering in Gaza.

Mr Albanese told reporters after a Cabinet meeting Monday that Australia’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state will be formalised at the United Nations General Assembly in September.

The acknowledgement was “predicated on commitments Australia has received from the Palestinian Authority,” Mr Albanese said.

Those commitments included no role for Hamas in a Palestinian government, demilitarisation of Gaza and the holding of elections, he said.

“A two-state solution is humanity’s best hope to break the cycle of violence in the Middle East and to bring an end to the conflict, suffering and starvation in Gaza,” Mr Albanese said.

Mr Netanyahu had already criticised Australia and other European countries that have moved to recognise a Palestinian state.

“To have European countries and Australia march into that rabbit hole … this canard, is disappointing and I think it’s actually shameful,” the Israeli leader said.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that Israel “has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas”, as he addressed foreign media in Jerusalem.

Defending a planned military offensive, Mr Netanyahu asserted that “our goal is not to occupy Gaza, our goal is to free Gaza”. He also pushed back against what he called a “global campaign of lies” amid growing condemnation of the plan both inside and outside Israel.

Mr Netanyahu remarked that chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany, one of Israel’s strongest backers, had “buckled under” by announcing that Germany won’t authorise exports of military equipment to Israel that could be used in Gaza until further notice.

The prime minister outlined a “fairly short timetable” for the next steps in Gaza.

He stated that Israel’s objectives include demilitarising the territory, ensuring the Israeli military has “overriding security control”, and establishing a non-Israeli civilian administration.

In a striking development, Mr Netanyahu revealed he had recently directed Israel’s military to “bring in more foreign journalists”.

This marks a significant shift, as foreign media have not typically been allowed into Gaza beyond military embeds.