The Hamas-run municipality of Gaza City's southern Zeitoun district described the situation as 'catastrophic', with residents enduring almost constant explosions from Israeli air strikes.

Israeli police blasted crowds with water cannons and made dozens of arrests on Sunday as thousands of protesters demanding a deal to free hostages in Gaza aimed to shut down the country with a one-day

Israeli military advances plans to take over the northern city and forcibly displace more than a million Palestinians.

Large crowds of Israelis took to the streets on Sunday, launching a nationwide grassroots strike and widespread protests to demand the government secure the release of 50 hostages still in Gaza.

Israeli actress Gal Gadot embraces hostage families at Tel Aviv square, meeting with wives and mothers of those abducted during the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.

Gaza’s Health Ministry has recorded four more hunger-related deaths over the past 24 hours, raising the total number of Palestinians who starved to death during Israel’s war on Gaza to 239, including 106 children. At least 32 Palestinians, including 13 aid seekers, have been killed since dawn in Israeli attacks on Gaza today.

Palestinian residents of Gaza City have come under relentless Israeli bombardment as the military prepares for a major offensive to seize and ethnically cleanse the area, barring emergency workers from reaching people trapped in the residential Zeitoun neighbourhood.

Twenty years ago, Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip, dismantling 21 Jewish settlements and pulling out its forces. The Friday anniversary of the start of the landmark disengagement comes as Israel is mired in a nearly two-year war with Hamas that has devastated the Palestinian territory and means it is likely to keep troops there long into the future.