Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Israel’s military said on Saturday that it had completed the takeover of a stretch of land that separates the Gazan cities of Rafah and Khan Younis, surrounding the former and turning it into a “buffer zone” as the army intensifies its operations in the Strip.
Israeli control of the route, known as the Morag Corridor, has raised fears that the country is planning a long-term occupation of Gaza and dividing territory in a way that gives it control over the movement of Palestinians and the distribution of aid.
At least 50,846 Palestinians have been killed and 115,729 wounded since the Gaza war began in October 2023.
Israel has captured a number of “corridors” throughout the conflict, including Netzarim, which divides the north, and Salah Al Din, which gives Israel control of the enclave’s entire border with Egypt.
The military’s statement on Saturday said it was building a road in the newly captured territory. It also said it would launch operations in Rafah, in areas previously not targeted.
Shortly after the military’s announcement, Defence Minister Israel Katz warned Gazans that “this is the final moment to remove Hamas and release the hostages and bring about an end to the war”.
“Hamas is unable to protect the residents or the territory,” he added. “Hamas leaders are hiding in tunnels with their families and in luxury hotels abroad with billions in their bank accounts and are using you as hostages.”
Mr Katz also repeated a promise that “those [Gazans] interested will also be able to voluntarily move to various countries around the world in accordance with the vision of the US president, which we are working to carry out”. He did not provide further details.
The Israeli leadership has said in recent weeks that it is seizing land to put pressure on Hamas to release Israeli hostages held in Gaza and advance ceasefire negotiations. However, there are fears over more civilian deaths from renewed fighting, as well the growing humanitarian crisis.
“All basic supplies are running out” in the Strip, Juliette Touma, the communications director at UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said this week. “It means babies, children are going to bed hungry.”
Despite the Israeli government promising that the new offensive will bring significant operational advantages and the defeat of Hamas closer, polling suggests most Israelis appear to support prioritising hostage releases over fighting Hamas.
Anger over the prolonging of the war is a key theme of persistent anti-government protests that have dogged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since he took office.
The demonstrations have also taken aim at alleged corruption, government attempts to destroy democracy and anger at the exemption of ultra-Orthodox Israelis, whose parties form a key bloc in Mr Netanyahu’s coalition, from military service.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
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'Downton Abbey: A New Era'
Director: Simon Curtis
Cast: Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter and Phyllis Logan
Rating: 4/5
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
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Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
- Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
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PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE
1 Man City 26 20 3 3 63 17 63
2 Liverpool 25 17 6 2 64 20 57
3 Chelsea 25 14 8 3 49 18 50
4 Man Utd 26 13 7 6 44 34 46
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5 West Ham 26 12 6 8 45 34 42
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6 Arsenal 23 13 3 7 36 26 42
7 Wolves 24 12 4 8 23 18 40
8 Tottenham 23 12 4 8 31 31 39
Dolittle
Director: Stephen Gaghan
Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Michael Sheen
One-and-a-half out of five stars
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The Equaliser 2
Director Antoine Fuqua
Starring: Denzel Washington, Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo, Ashton Sanders
Three stars
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
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heading
Iran has sent five planeloads of food to Qatar, which is suffering shortages amid a regional blockade.
A number of nations, including Iran's major rival Saudi Arabia, last week cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of funding terrorism, charges it denies.
The land border with Saudi Arabia, through which 40% of Qatar's food comes, has been closed.
Meanwhile, mediators Kuwait said that Qatar was ready to listen to the "qualms" of its neighbours.
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Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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Pakistan World Cup squad
Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abid Ali, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez(subject to fitness), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Junaid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain
Two additions for England ODIs: Mohammad Amir and Asif Ali
Profile Box
Company/date started: 2015
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