Israeli defence minister says Gaza City could be destroyed

Israel is gearing up for a new offensive (AP)

Israel’s defence minister has warned that Gaza City could be destroyed unless Hamas accepts Israel’s terms, as the country prepares for an expanded offensive in the area.

A day after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would authorise the military to seize Gaza City, defence minister Israel Katz warned that the enclave’s largest city could “turn into Rafah and Beit Hanoun” – areas reduced to rubble earlier in the war.

Mr Katz wrote on X: “The gates of hell will soon open on the heads of Hamas’ murderers and rapists in Gaza – until they agree to Israel’s conditions for ending the war.”

He restated Israel’s ceasefire demands: the release of all hostages and Hamas’ complete disarmament.

Hamas has said it would release captives in exchange for ending the war, but rejects disarmament without the creation of a Palestinian state.