November 10, 2025
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel declared Gaza’s largest city a dangerous combat zone and recovered the remains of two hostages on Friday as the army launched the "initial stages" of a planned offensive.
Plumes of smoke and thunderous blasts could be seen and heard across the border in southern Israel on Friday morning.
Israel has called Gaza City a Hamas terrorist stronghold, alleging that a network of tunnels remains in use by militants after several previous large-scale raids on the area throughout nearly 23 months of war.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has argued that crippling Hamas’ capabilities in the city is critical to shielding Israel from a repeat of the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack that ignited the war.
Some who fled Gaza City were putting together tents Friday in the central Gaza Strip, west of the Nuseirat refugee camp.
More than 63,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war started, according to claims by the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry on Friday. The ministry’s count — 63,025 — does not distinguish between fighters and civilians. The U.N. and independent experts consider the ministry the most reliable source on war casualties, though. Israel disputes its figures.
Israel instituted what it called “tactical pauses” in Gaza City and two other populated areas last month that it said were geared toward letting in more food and aid. The pauses included a daily halt in fighting from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., though aid groups have said deliveries remained challenging due to blockade, looting, and Israeli restrictions.
Midday Friday, the military said it had suspended pauses, marking the latest escalation after weeks of preparatory strikes in some of the city’s neighborhoods and calling up tens of thousands of reservists.
“We will intensify our strikes until we bring back all the kidnapped hostages and dismantle Hamas,” Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said.
Adraee, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, has for days urged Palestinians in Gaza City to flee south, calling evacuation “inevitable.”
Hundreds of residents began the journey south on Friday, piling their few remaining possessions onto pickup trucks or donkey carts.
The Holy Family Church of Gaza City told The Associated Press on Friday that the roughly 440 people sheltering there would remain, along with members of the clergy who would assist them.
As Israel suspended pauses on Friday in Gaza City, the military did not say whether they had notified residents or aid groups of the impending declaration ahead of the 11:30 a.m. announcement.
An Israeli military official said Israel intended to continue facilitating aid to Gaza City. But the official provided no details on how they would continue to get aid amid a ramped-up offensive.
Israel on Friday said its military had recovered the remains of two hostages — Ilan Weiss and another left unnamed.
“The campaign to return the hostages continues. We will not rest or be silent until we return all of our hostages home — both the living and the dead,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
Weiss, 55, was killed in the attack on Kibbutz Be’eri, one of the communities near Gaza that Hamas-led terrorists stormed on Oct. 7.
For the families of hostages, the return of their remains meets a central demand and brings some closure, but also is a reminder of hostages who remain in Gaza.
“At least they have closure,” said Rubi Chen, whose son was abducted during the Oct. 7 attack and is believed to be dead. “There are still 49 families waiting to have that closure.”
Of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas-led terrorists, nearly 50 remain in Gaza, including 20 that Israel believes to be alive.
Hamas-led terrorists abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 terror attack. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals.
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