Netanyahu threatens Gaza residents as UN slams Israel over ‘mass killing’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened Palestinians in Gaza City to “leave now”, as the United Nations human rights chief condemned Israel for what he described as the “mass killing” of civilians and deliberate obstruction of lifesaving aid.

Volker Turk, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, accused Israel on Monday of committing “war crime upon war crime” and said the scale of devastation in Gaza was “shocking the conscience of the world”.

Recommended Stories

list of 3 items

end of list

He added that Israel “has a case to answer before the International Court of Justice (ICJ)”, pointing to the court’s ruling in January that obliged Tel Aviv to prevent acts of genocide.

Turk’s appeal to end the “carnage in Gaza” came as Israeli forces continued their destruction of Gaza City, the largest urban centre in the enclave, ahead of their plans for a ground invasion of the city.

The Palestinian Civil Defence said that Israeli strikes have levelled more than 50 buildings across Gaza since Sunday morning, while another 100 have been partially damaged. Spokesman Mahmoud Basal accused Israel of deliberately hitting residential blocks next to encampments of displaced families, destroying more than 200 tents in the last 24 hours.

He said that rescue teams are continuing to pull people from the rubble in Gaza City’s Tuffah neighbourhood after Israeli bombs flattened buildings in the az-Zarqa district. Mosques and sport grounds were also targeted, he added.

Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City, said it was “heartbreaking to watch these high-rise towers in Gaza City falling one after another due to the systematic tactics of the Israeli military”.

“It’s not just a building that’s been destroyed – it’s the services that come with it, services that are crucial for people trying to live their lives after nearly two years of war.”

Dozens killed, famine deepens

Local hospitals told Al Jazeera that at least 52 Palestinians were killed on Monday alone, with 32 of them in Gaza City. The Ministry of Health reported six more deaths, including two children, from starvation and severe malnutrition in the besieged enclave, where Israel routinely blocks or bombs aid.

Among those killed in Israel’s bombardment on Monday was Osama Balousha, a Palestinian journalist, medics said.

Palestinian officials say that nearly 250 journalists have been killed in Gaza since the war began – all of them Palestinian, as Israel bars foreign reporters from entering. It is the deadliest conflict for media workers in modern history.

The Israeli military said that four of its soldiers were also killed when a roadside bomb detonated under a tank in northern Gaza.

Palestinians inspect the site of a collapsed residential building, shortly after it was hit in an Israeli air strike, in Gaza City, September 8, 2025. [Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters]
Palestinians inspect the site of a collapsed residential building, shortly after it was hit in an Israeli air strike, in Gaza City, September 8, 2025 [Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters]

‘Humanitarian areas’ under fire

Israel issued new evacuation threats on Monday, releasing maps warning Palestinians to leave a highlighted building and nearby tents on Jamal Abdel Nasser Street in Gaza City or face death. It told residents to move to the so-called “humanitarian area” in al-Mawasi, a barren stretch of coast in southern Gaza.

But al-Mawasi itself has been repeatedly bombed, despite Israel insisting it is a safe zone. At the start of the year, about 115,000 people lived there. Today, aid agencies estimate that more than 800,000 – nearly a third of Gaza’s population – are crammed into overcrowded makeshift camps.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanches echoed the UN’s condemnation of Israel and announced new measures against the country.

He said Spain would block ships and aircraft carrying weapons to Israel from using its ports or airspace, expand humanitarian aid to Palestinians, and ban imports of goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements.

“We hope that they will serve to add pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government to alleviate some of the suffering that the Palestinian population is enduring,” Sánchez said in a televised address.

He added that anyone directly involved in what he said was a “genocide” would be banned from entering Spain.

Hamas open to ceasefire as violence spreads to West Bank

Meanwhile, Hamas said it was ready to “immediately sit at the negotiating table” after receiving proposals from the United States for a ceasefire and release of captives.

US President Donald Trump declared he had issued his “last warning” to Hamas to accept a deal. Axios, citing an unnamed source, reported that the US plan includes a staged Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, “subject to the new government in Gaza’s ability to impose security’.

Hamas dismissed this as a trap, saying that the condition effectively grants Israel veto power over how and when the withdrawal happens.

The war also spilled into the occupied West Bank on Monday, after Palestinian gunmen killed six people and wounded dozens more near an illegal settlement. The attackers were shot dead by an Israeli soldier and a civilian.

In response, Israeli forces sealed off checkpoints between occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank, while troops raided nearby Palestinian villages, including Qatana, Biddu, Beit Inan and Beit Duqu.

Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut, reporting from Amman, Jordan, said such raids were part of Israel’s “collective punishment” policy.

“It is the collective punishment that takes place every time. The villages are raided, the roads are blocked, the checkpoints are completely shut down, family members are arrested and, ultimately, the family home is demolished,” she said.

In Jenin, two 14-year-old boys – Mohammad Sari Omar Masqala and Islam Abdel Aziz Noah Majarmah – were confirmed killed during the Israeli raids. Wissam Bakr, the director of Jenin Government Hospital, said that Masqala died from his wounds hours after the Jerusalem attack.

Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti said that Israel uses such attacks as pretexts for escalation.

“Attacks on Palestinian cities and towns in the occupied West Bank are a pattern that exists without any attacks,” he said. “It’s just that they [Israel] use such a moment to justify and escalate collective punishment acts against Palestinians.”

He warned that Israel’s “ultimate goal” remains unchanged: “the annexation of the West Bank and the displacement and ethnic cleansing of its population.”

Read More

  • Related Posts

    Trump threatens US defence firms over executive pay, slow production

    United States President Donald Trump has issued a stern warning to defence contractors that supply the US military, accusing them of profiteering. In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, he…

    Trump threatens food assistance as US government shutdown drags on

    The US government shutdown entered its 35th day on Tuesday, equalling the longest in the country’s history. United States President Donald Trump has claimed he will only provide nutrition assistance…

    You Missed

    PSYCHIC SALLY on her predictions for the royals in 2026 and why Harry, Meghan and their children WILL return to the UK

    • By admin
    • January 28, 2026
    • 1 views
    PSYCHIC SALLY on her predictions for the royals in 2026 and why Harry, Meghan and their children WILL return to the UK

    Arise Sir Idris: Luther actor is knighted for his campaign against knife crime while the Lionesses lead sporting heroes recognised by the King in the New Year’s Honours

    • By admin
    • January 28, 2026
    • 1 views
    Arise Sir Idris: Luther actor is knighted for his campaign against knife crime while the Lionesses lead sporting heroes recognised by the King in the New Year’s Honours

    Lewis Capaldi is ordered to lower ‘excessively high’ fence around his £1.6million Glasgow mansion

    • By admin
    • January 28, 2026
    • 1 views
    Lewis Capaldi is ordered to lower ‘excessively high’ fence around his £1.6million Glasgow mansion

    Christmas dinner poisoning mystery deepens amid fears Italian father may have accidentally poisoned his wife and daughter to death with rat poison-laced flour

    • By admin
    • January 28, 2026
    • 1 views
    Christmas dinner poisoning mystery deepens amid fears Italian father may have accidentally poisoned his wife and daughter to death with rat poison-laced flour

    Famed Peruvian psychics predict ‘serious illness’ for Donald Trump, warn of natural disasters and foresee global wars in annual New Year’s fortune telling ritual

    • By admin
    • January 28, 2026
    • 1 views
    Famed Peruvian psychics predict ‘serious illness’ for Donald Trump, warn of natural disasters and foresee global wars in annual New Year’s fortune telling ritual

    The hero of Bondi is engulfed in a WILD media row after he suddenly pulled out of a Sky News Australia interview in his $6,000-a-night penthouse suite

    The hero of Bondi is engulfed in a WILD media row after he suddenly pulled out of a Sky News Australia interview in his $6,000-a-night penthouse suite