‘Leave now,’ Netanyahu tells Gaza City residents as he says Israeli forces readying for ground ‘manoeuvre’ – as it happened

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Mon 8 Sep 2025 20.59 BSTFirst published on Mon 8 Sep 2025 08.44 BST
Smoke rises from a seven-story building known as the Al-Roya Tower after the Israeli military targeted it with an airstrike in Gaza City on Monday
Smoke rises from a seven-storey building known as the Al-Roya Tower after the Israeli military targeted it with an airstrike in Gaza City on Monday Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
Smoke rises from a seven-storey building known as the Al-Roya Tower after the Israeli military targeted it with an airstrike in Gaza City on Monday Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

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'Leave now,' Netanyahu tells Gaza City residents as he says Israeli forces readying for ground 'manoeuvre'

Benjamin Netanyahu warned residents of Gaza City to leave now, hours after Israel said it would ramp up airstrikes on the enclave.

Reuters reports the Israeli PM as saying: “I say to the residents of Gaza, I take this opportunity and listen to me carefully: you have been warned — leave now!”

Netanyahu said forces are now organising and assembling into Gaza City for a ground “manoeuvre”.

Key events

Summary

  • Benjamin Netanyahu warned residents of Gaza City to leave now, hours after Israel said it would ramp up airstrikes on the enclave. Reuters reports the Israeli PM as saying: “I say to the residents of Gaza, I take this opportunity and listen to me carefully: you have been warned — leave now!” Netanyahu said forces are now organising and assembling into Gaza City for a ground “manoeuvre”.

  • Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani pressed Hamas political leaders to “respond positively” to the latest US-proposed Gaza ceasefire-hostage deal during talks in Doha on Monday, an official briefed on the talks has told Reuters.

  • A 14-year-old boy, Islam Abdel Aziz Noah Majarmah, was shot dead by Israeli forces as they raided Jenin’s refugee camp in the after the shooting in east Jerusalem earlier today.

  • Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a bus stop in east Jerusalem on Monday, killing six people and wounding others. At the scene of the attack, Netanyahu said: “Let it be clear: these murders strengthen our determination to fight terrorism. We are now engaged in pursuit and are cordoning off the villages from which the murderers came. We will apprehend whoever aided and dispatched them, and we will take even stronger steps.”

  • The Spanish government has confirmed that a Spanish citizen was among the six people murdered in the east Jerusalem attack. “The government wishes to express its solidarity and extend its deepest condolences to the families of the victims, especially those of the murdered Spanish citizen, and to express its hope that the injured recover as quickly as possible,” the Spanish foreign ministry said in a statement.

  • Spain’s foreign ministry said on Monday it summoned its ambassador in Tel Aviv for consultations, hours after Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar accused the Spanish government of “antisemitic” following its new measures against Israel-bound ships and aircraft over the war in Gaza.

  • Israel launched airstrikes Monday on the outskirts of northeastern Lebanon, killing five people, including four Hezbollah members, according to officials. This comes as global pressure mounts to disarm the Lebanese militant group. Since Hezbollah and Israel’s war ended in a US-brokered ceasefire in November, Israel has struck southern Lebanon almost daily in what they say are attacks to target the Lebanese militant group, AP reported.

  • Israel struck and destroyed another high-rise building in Gaza City on Monday after warning residents to evacuate, part of an offensive aimed at taking over the largest Palestinian city. The military said it was targeting Hamas observation posts and bombs placed around the 12-story office building.

  • Israel’s far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich blamed the deadly attack by two Palestinian gunmen on the outskirts of Jerusalem this morning on the Palestinian Authority, which he claimed “raises and educates its children to murder Jews”.

  • At least 40 Palestinian people have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza since dawn, the majority of whom in the northern part of the territory, Al Jazeera has been told by medical sources.

  • At least 64,522 Palestinian people have been killed and 163,096 others injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since 7 October 2023, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Monday.

  • The United Nations human rights chief condemned Israel on Monday for the “mass killing” of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and “hindering of sufficient lifesaving aid”, saying the country had a case to answer before the International Court of Justice. Volker Turk, who heads the Office of the United Nations high commissioner for human rights (OHCHR), stopped short of describing the Gaza war as an unfolding genocide, as hundreds of UN staff had urged him to do, Reuters reported.

  • Yair Golan, leader of the opposition Democrats party, has called for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to leave office immediately, calling him a danger to the country.

  • Israel’s supreme court has ruled that the state is failing to provide adequate food to Palestinian prisoners, and ordered authorities to increase the amount and improve the quality of food served to deprived Palestinian inmates.

  • Donald Trump on Sunday issued what he called his “last warning” to Hamas, urging the Palestinian militant group to accept a deal to release hostages from Gaza. “The Israelis have accepted my Terms. It is time for Hamas to accept as well,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. “I have warned Hamas about the consequences of not accepting. This is my last warning, there will not be another one!”

Qatar PM urges Hamas to accept latest US-backed Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal - report

Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani pressed Hamas political leaders to “respond positively” to the latest US-proposed Gaza ceasefire-hostage deal during talks in Doha on Monday, an official briefed on the talks has told Reuters.

“The Qatari prime minister pressed Hamas to respond positively to the latest American proposal, conveyed through mediators, and aimed at securing a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza,” the official said.

On Sunday, Hamas said it received some ideas from the United States’ side to reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza, and was discussing with mediators ways to develop those ideas.

Child killed during Israeili raid on Jenin

Jenin government hospital director Wissam Bakr has told the Wafa news agency that a 14-year-old boy, Islam Abdel Aziz Noah Majarmah, was shot dead by Israeli forces as they raided Jenin’s refugee camp in the after the shooting in east Jerusalem earlier today.

Two young men were transported to the hospital with serious wounds after Israeli forces shot them in the abdomen, Bakr said, according to Wafa.

The Palestinian ministry of health confirmed the killing of Islam.

The attackers fired towards a bus stop at the Ramot intersection, and were shot dead by an off-duty soldier and an armed civilian, Israeli police said.

Six people killed in Jerusalem shooting – video report

‘We will apprehend whoever aided them,’ warns Netanyahu after attack in Jerusalem

Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a bus stop in east Jerusalem on Monday, killing six people and wounding others.

At the scene of the attack, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said:

Let it be clear: these murders strengthen our determination to fight terrorism.”

We are now engaged in pursuit and are cordoning off the villages from which the murderers came. We will apprehend whoever aided and dispatched them, and we will take even stronger steps.”

Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, right, visit the site of a shooting attack at a bus stop in Jerusalem. Photograph: Ronen Zvulun/AP

Read Jason Burke’s report below:

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'Leave now,' Netanyahu tells Gaza City residents as he says Israeli forces readying for ground 'manoeuvre'

Benjamin Netanyahu warned residents of Gaza City to leave now, hours after Israel said it would ramp up airstrikes on the enclave.

Reuters reports the Israeli PM as saying: “I say to the residents of Gaza, I take this opportunity and listen to me carefully: you have been warned — leave now!”

Netanyahu said forces are now organising and assembling into Gaza City for a ground “manoeuvre”.

Summary

  • Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Saar said six people were killed in the Jerusalem attack (not five as Israel’s ambulance service had said) after Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a crowded bus stop in the northern outskirts of the city.

  • The Spanish government has confirmed that a Spanish citizen was among the six people murdered in the east Jerusalem attack. “The government wishes to express its solidarity and extend its deepest condolences to the families of the victims, especially those of the murdered Spanish citizen, and to express its hope that the injured recover as quickly as possible,” the Spanish foreign ministry said in a statement.

  • Spain’s foreign ministry said on Monday it summoned its ambassador in Tel Aviv for consultations, hours after Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar accused the Spanish government of “antisemitic” following its new measures against Israel-bound ships and aircraft over the war in Gaza.

  • Israel launched airstrikes Monday on the outskirts of northeastern Lebanon, killing five people, including four Hezbollah members, according to officials. This comes as global pressure mounts to disarm the Lebanese militant group. Since Hezbollah and Israel’s war ended in a US-brokered ceasefire in November, Israel has struck southern Lebanon almost daily in what they say are attacks to target the Lebanese militant group, AP reported.

  • Israel struck and destroyed another high-rise building in Gaza City on Monday after warning residents to evacuate, part of an offensive aimed at taking over the largest Palestinian city. The military said it was targeting Hamas observation posts and bombs placed around the 12-story office building.

  • Israel’s far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich blamed the deadly attack by two Palestinian gunmen on the outskirts of Jerusalem this morning on the Palestinian Authority, which he claimed “raises and educates its children to murder Jews”.

  • At least 40 Palestinian people have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza since dawn, the majority of whom in the northern part of the territory, Al Jazeera has been told by medical sources.

  • At least 64,522 Palestinian people have been killed and 163,096 others injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since 7 October 2023, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Monday.

  • The United Nations human rights chief condemned Israel on Monday for the “mass killing” of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and “hindering of sufficient lifesaving aid”, saying the country had a case to answer before the International Court of Justice. Volker Turk, who heads the Office of the United Nations high commissioner for human rights (OHCHR), stopped short of describing the Gaza war as an unfolding genocide, as hundreds of UN staff had urged him to do, Reuters reported.

  • Yair Golan, leader of the opposition Democrats party, has called for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to leave office immediately, calling him a danger to the country.

  • Israel’s supreme court has ruled that the state is failing to provide adequate food to Palestinian prisoners, and ordered authorities to increase the amount and improve the quality of food served to deprived Palestinian inmates.

  • Donald Trump on Sunday issued what he called his “last warning” to Hamas, urging the Palestinian militant group to accept a deal to release hostages from Gaza. “The Israelis have accepted my Terms. It is time for Hamas to accept as well,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. “I have warned Hamas about the consequences of not accepting. This is my last warning, there will not be another one!”

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Updated at 

Israel struck and destroyed another high-rise building in Gaza City on Monday after warning residents to evacuate, part of an offensive aimed at taking over the largest Palestinian city.

The military said it was targeting Hamas observation posts and bombs placed around the 12-story office building.

Over the past several days, Israel has destroyed multiple high-rise buildings in Gaza City, accusing Hamas of putting surveillance infrastructure in them.

It has ordered people to flee ahead of its ground offensive into the city of some 1 million residents, which experts say is experiencing famine.

Israel airstrikes kill five in north-eastern Lebanon today

Israel launched airstrikes Monday on the outskirts of northeastern Lebanon, killing five people, including four Hezbollah members, according to officials. This comes as global pressure mounts to disarm the Lebanese militant group.

Since Hezbollah and Israel’s war ended in a US-brokered ceasefire in November, Israel has struck southern Lebanon almost daily in what they say are attacks to target the Lebanese militant group, AP reported.

The strikes in north-eastern Lebanon, near Syria, far from the country’s border with Israel, are rare.

Monday’s strikes hit the fringes of the provinces of Hermel and Bekaa, according to the Lebanese health ministry, wounding five people.

A Hezbollah official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the press, confirmed four of the five killed were group members.

Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has stepped up his scathing criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Sánchez accused Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of “exterminating a defenceless people” by bombing hospitals and “killing innocent boys and girls with hunger”.

Spanish PM steps up scathing criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza – video

Spain’s foreign ministry said on Monday it summoned its ambassador in Tel Aviv for consultations, hours after Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar accused the Spanish government of “antisemitic” following its new measures against Israel-bound ships and aircraft over the war in Gaza.

In his statement, Saar also said the government used the measures to divert public attention from corruption scandals.

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Israel’s far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich blamed the deadly attack by two Palestinian gunmen on the outskirts of Jerusalem this morning on the Palestinian Authority, which he claimed “raises and educates its children to murder Jews”.

“The Palestinian Authority must disappear from the map, and the villages from which the attackers came should be reduced to the status of Rafah and Beit Hanoun,” he wrote in a post on X, referring to cities in Gaza that have been devastated by relentless Israeli airstrikes.

The PA is a civilian ruling authority in areas of the West Bank, where about three million Palestinian people live – as well as around half a million Israelis occupying settlements considered illegal under international law.

Smotrich is a minister who also holds a position at Israel’s defence ministry with oversight of planning issues in the occupied Palestinian territories.

He was placed under sanctions along with fellow far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir by the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand in June for “repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities”.

Far-right Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has said the Palestinian Authority must “disappear” from the map. Photograph: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters
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More on this story

More on this story

  • US visa refusal for Palestinian delegation prompts calls to move UN meeting to Geneva

  • Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez says Israel is ‘exterminating a defenceless people’

  • UK ignored obligation to prevent genocide, witnesses tell Gaza tribunal

  • ‘She could die any moment’: family of girl, eight, plead for urgent evacuation from Gaza

  • US imposes sanctions on Palestinians for requesting war crimes inquiry

  • Palestine recognition: the principle the EU has been stuck on for decades

  • Starmer must not meet Israeli president during UK visit, say Labour MPs

  • Isaac Herzog: Israeli president named in ICJ order who is due to visit UK

  • Five children in Gaza among those killed by Israeli strike while fetching water

  • Israel committing genocide in Gaza, world’s top scholars on the crime say

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