Two officials said the ground invasion was in its early stages, according to the New York Times<\/a>. Israel is justifying its assault by saying Gaza City is one of the last remaining Hamas strongholds.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.09 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n My colleague William Christou<\/a> explains in this analysis piece<\/a> why the Israeli attack in Doha has shattered Qatar\u2019s faith in US protection from such action. Here is an extract:<\/p>\n Qatar has been useful. It has facilitated peace talks between Israel and Hamas, did the same with the Taliban and the US during the war in Afghanistan, and hosts the Al Udeid air base, the largest American military base in the Middle East.<\/p>\n For decades the arrangement has held. The US supplied arms, parked its aircraft carrier in the Gulf and provided political cover internationally. The support has helped spare Gulf nations from the unrest that has consumed much of the Middle East, despite the rivalry with Iran.<\/p>\n That changed when the US failed to stop the strike on Qatar this week, despite Israel being one of its closest allies. Donald Trump said he tried to give warning, but Qatar said it was only notified after the strike.<\/p>\n Doha strongly condemned the strike, with al-Thani calling it \u201cstate terror\u201d in an interview with CNN.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Rubio arrives in Qatar to try to limit the damage to US relations in the Gulf caused by Israeli strike on Doha<\/p>\n The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, is visiting Qatar today to lobby the Gulf state to continue its mediation between Israel<\/a> and Hamas after the Israeli attack on Doha targeting the Hamas leadership last week seriously strained relations between the US and Qatar.<\/p>\n Hamas said six people were killed in the attack but that its leaders survived. Despite pressure to rebuke Israel, Rubio offered the US\u2019s unwavering support to Benjamin Netanyahu when he met the Israeli prime minister in Jerusalem yesterday.<\/p>\n He told reporters as he left Israel: \u201cWe think we have a very short window of time in which a deal can happen. We don\u2019t have months anymore, and we probably have days and maybe a few weeks to go.\u201d<\/p>\n Rubio said a diplomatic solution in which Hamas demilitarises remained the US preference, although he added: \u201cSometimes when you\u2019re dealing with a group of savages like Hamas, that\u2019s not possible, but we hope it can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n Marco Rubio meets Qatar\u2019s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha. Photograph: Nathan Howard\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.20 EDT<\/p>\n Here are some of the latest images being sent to us over the newswires from Gaza<\/a> City:<\/p>\n Aftermath of an overnight Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza City. Photograph: Ebrahim Hajjaj\/ReutersSmoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of Gaza City, as seen from an undisclosed location on the Israeli side of the border. Photograph: Atef Safadi\/EPAIsrael carried out a wave of heavy airstrikes overnight across Gaza City, causing widespread destruction. Photograph: Ebrahim Hajjaj\/ReutersShare<\/a>Israel military official says troops have advanced towards the centre of Gaza City The military spokesperson pointed out that the IDF has been on the outskirts of Gaza City for several weeks, but the overnight operations involved a significant advance towards the centre.<\/p>\n \u201cLast night we began deepening our operations deeper into Gaza City. It\u2019s a gradual thing. It is not a black or white thing. But yesterday was a big step forward in deployment and also in operations on the ground,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n My colleague Julian Borger<\/a> has some lines from an IDF spokesperson about the launch of the ground offensive in Gaza City.<\/p>\n The spokesperson told journalists today:<\/p>\n Last night, we transitioned into the main phase of the plan for Gaza City. Following the directive of the political echelon, IDF Southern Command Forces have expanded ground activity into Hamas\u2019 main stronghold in Gaza, which is Gaza City. <\/p>\n This phase is defined by a coordinated and gradual manoeuvre combining precise intelligence, air and ground forces targeting Hamas\u2019s central stronghold and aimed at dismantling its grip in this area\u2026<\/p>\n We are expecting to see on the battlefield somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 terrorists in Gaza City. Some of them, we understand, have been there since the beginning of the war and are preparing to engage with our forces above ground and underground.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Israel will gradually increase the number of its troops in Gaza City as it estimates 40% of the residents have already fled towards the south of the territory, an Israeli military official said in a briefing this morning.<\/p>\n Palestinian people in Gaza<\/a> City have been told by the IDF to move to al-Mawasi in southern Gaza, which is often struck by Israeli airstrikes despite being a so-called \u201csafe zone\u201d.<\/p>\n Children hold some of the leaflets dropped by the Israeli military telling them to go to al-Mawasi in the southern Gaza Strip or risk being killed in Israeli strikes. Photograph: Omar Al-Qattaa\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.43 EDT<\/p>\n Israel launches ground offensive in Gaza City, officials say<\/p>\n Israel has launched a ground offensive in Gaza City, officials have said, after weeks of intense bombardments across the territory\u2019s largest urban centre saw entire apartment blocks reduced to rubble and forced many Palestinian people to flee despite there being nowhere safe to go.<\/p>\n Hundreds of thousands of residents remain in Gaza<\/a> City, however, where a famine \u2013 caused by Israeli restrictions on aid \u2013 has already been declared.<\/p>\n Two officials said the ground invasion was in its early stages, according to the New York Times<\/a>. Israel is justifying its assault by saying Gaza City is one of the last remaining Hamas strongholds.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.09 EDT<\/p>\n Journalists are currently questioning the three-member expert panel of the UN commission of inquiry, which is chaired by Navi Pillay, a South African former UN human rights chief, following its conclusion that Israel<\/a> has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. You can watch the stream live here:<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.48 EDT<\/p>\n Netanyahu says Israel has ‘launched a significant operation in Gaza’<\/p>\n Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said that Israeli forces have \u201claunched a significant operation in Gaza\u201d. The comments were made during today\u2019s session of his corruption trial.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.54 EDT<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s foreign ministry has rejected the genocide findings of a United Nations commission of inquiry<\/a>, denouncing the report as \u201cdistorted and false\u201d.<\/p>\n A spokesperson accused the three experts on the commission of effectively being \u201cHamas proxies\u201d and relying \u201centirely on Hamas<\/a> falsehoods, laundered and repeated by others\u201d that had \u201calready been thoroughly debunked\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Netanyahu condemned for saying Muslim immigration in Europe is contributing to Israel’s increasing isolation on world stage<\/p>\n Julian Borger is the Guardian\u2019s senior international correspondent<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is being widely criticised in Israel<\/a> this morning for remarks admitting Israel\u2019s increasing isolation but blaming it on Muslim immigration in Europe, as well as social media influence backed by Qatar and China.<\/p>\n In a speech which led to a dip on the Tel Aviv stock market on Monday, Netanyahu warned that the country would have to become a \u201csuper Sparta\u201d with \u201csome signs of an autarky\u201d, conjuring up the prospect of a militarised, self-reliant future, with less trade with the rest of the world.<\/p>\n A United Nations commission of inquiry concluded on Tuesday that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza<\/a> and that top Israeli officials including prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had incited these acts. More than 64,000 Palestinians, the overwhelmingly majority civilians, have been killed so far.<\/p>\n Netanyahu\u2019s government has denied the genocide charge which is also being weighed by the International Court of Justice. Netanyahu has escalated the conflict further by ordering an offensive on Gaza City. After a night of intense bombardment, there were reports of a ground attack on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Benjamin Netanyahu is relying on continued weapons and diplomatic cover from the US as support from western allies drains away as his assault on Gaza continues to intensify. Photograph: Debbie Hill\/EPA<\/p>\n Netanyahu, however, blamed foreigners for Israel\u2019s increasing diplomatic isolation, which he referred to as \u201ca siege that is organised by a few states\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cOne is China, and the other is Qatar. And they are organising an attack on Israel, legitimacy, in the social media of the western world and the United States,\u201d Netanyahu said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe second thing is something that they can do uniquely in western Europe. Western Europe has large Islamist minorities. They\u2019re vocal. Many of them are politically motivated. They align with Hamas<\/a>, they align with Iran,\u201d the prime minister said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey pressure the governments of western Europe, many of whom are kindly disposed to Israel, but they see that they are being overtaken, really, by campaigns of violent protest and constant intimidation.\u201d<\/p>\n His remarks seemed to be a reference to UK, France and Belgium who are set to recognise Palestine at the UN general assembly and have been increasingly critical of Israel over the Gaza war.<\/p>\n Netanyahu\u2019s rhetoric about isolation was denounced in the Israeli press on Tuesday as a potentially self-fulfilling prophecy. Writing in the Ma\u2019ariv newspaper, the veteran commentator, Ben Caspit, said: \u201cEven in Netanyahu\u2019s terms, a man who has already said all of the most reckless things imaginable, this statement was exceptional in its recklessness, absurdity and madness.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe man has completely lost his checks, balances and connection to reality,\u201d Caspit wrote.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The IDF Arabic-language spokesperson, Col Avichay Adraee, has issued this warning on social media to Gaza<\/a> City residents.<\/p>\n The IDF has begun dismantling Hamas terrorist infrastructure in Gaza City.<\/p>\n Gaza City is a dangerous combat zone. Remaining in the city endangers you.<\/p>\n For your safety, evacuate as quickly as possible to the published safe areas, by vehicle or on foot, via the Al-Rashid corridor, south of Wadi Gaza.<\/p>\n Join the over 40% of the city\u2019s residents who have already evacuated to protect their own safety and that of their loved ones.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.52 EDT<\/p>\n The UN investigators cited examples of the scale of the Israeli killings, aid blockages, forced displacement and the destruction of a fertility clinic to back up its genocide finding.<\/p>\n The 1948 UN Genocide Convention defines genocide as crimes committed \u201cwith intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, as such\u201d. To count as genocide, at least one of five acts must have occurred.<\/p>\n The UN commission found that Israel had committed four of them: killing; causing serious bodily or mental harm; deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of the Palestinians in whole or in part; and imposing measures intended to prevent births.<\/p>\n It cited as evidence interviews with victims, witnesses, doctors, verified open-source documents and satellite imagery analysis compiled since the war began two years ago.<\/p>\n Israel is fighting allegations at the world\u2019s top court, the international court of justice, of committing genocide in Gaza<\/a>. Israel has denied the claims.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>UN investigators say Israel committing genocide in Gaza<\/p>\n UN investigators have determined that Israel<\/a> has committed \u201cgenocide\u201d in Gaza since October 2023, with the \u201cintent to destroy the Palestinians\u201d in the territory.<\/p>\n \u201cWe came to the conclusion that genocide is occurring in Gaza and is continuing to occur, and the responsibility lies with the State of Israel,\u201d Navi Pillay, head of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories<\/a>, told AFP. More details soon\u2026<\/p>\n![\"Julian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1758014888_889_Julian_Borger.png\")
Julian Borger<\/p>\n![\"UN](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1758014888_816_8256.jpg\")
UN inquiry set to release findings on situation in Gaza \u2013 watch live Share<\/a><\/p>\n