'Gaza is burning': Israel strikes heavy; UN chief warns of 'no peace' | Top updates

US President Donald Trump warned Hamas against using hostages as 'human shields', and said they will be in 'big trouble' if the group does any such thing.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians attempted to flee northern Gaza as Israel began its ground operation in Gaza City, with the Israeli defense minister saying, "Gaza is burning".

Tens of thousands of Palestinians tried to flee Gaza City amid Israel's intensifying ground assault. (AP)

The Israeli military vowed to overwhelm the city, which is already in ruins. The operation has further escalated the tensions in the Middle East, pushing the ceasefire deal with Hamas further out of reach.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump warned Hamas against using hostages as 'human shields', saying that they will be in 'big trouble' if the militant group does any such thing.

Israel-Gaza conflict | Top Updates

• Gaza is burning: Israeli defense minister Israel Katz announced the beginning of the country's ground assault on Gaza City and posted on X, "Gaza is burning". He added, "The IDF strikes with an iron fist at the terrorist infrastructure and IDF soldiers are fighting bravely to create the conditions for the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas." Israeli forces said that troops on the ground were moving deeper into the enclave's main city, adding that the number of soldiers would increase in the coming days to confront the Hamas militants.
• Israel accused of genocide: A team of independent experts commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council urged the global community to take initiatives to end the genocide and punish those responsible. Latest findings accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government of genocide against Gaza. Meanwhile, Israel rejected the "distorted and false" report.

• Palestinians try to flee Gaza: As Israeli strikes pounded Gaza, tens of thousands of Palestinians tried to leave the northern part of the city. The UN has estimated that some 2,20,000 Palestinians have already fled northern Gaza, including over 70,000 others in the past few days, ahead of Israel's ground offensive.
• Trump warns Hamas: US President Donald Trump said he heard that Hamas is trying to use hostages as "human shield", warning the militant group against any such action and saying that it would be in "big trouble" otherwise.
• EU urges Israel to halt Gaza offensive: Leaders of the European Union urged Israel to halt its offensive in Gaza. Anouar El Anouni, a European Commission spokesperson, said, "Military intervention will lead to more destruction, more death and more displacements." Anouni added, "This will also aggravate the already catastrophic humanitarian situation and also endangers the lives of hostages.” EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas will on Wednesday present proposals to increase pressure on Israel over its military offensive in Gaza.
• UN chief warns of 'no peace': UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that warned that without a two-state solution "there will be no peace in the Middle East, and extremism will expand everywhere in the world with the consequences that I consider extremely, extremely negative". He said that the alternative, wherein Palestinians would be deprives of their land and rights, would be "absolutely intolerable". He also said that Israel doesn't seem to be interested in a ceasefire or hostage release deal, "It looks like Israel is determined to go up to the end." Guterres said that Israel is violating international law with its offensive in Gaza, but clarified that a determination of genocide can only be made by the highest court of the UN.
• Hostages' families call to Netanyahu: The relatives of the hostages who are still being held in Gaza gathered outside the Israeli PM's residence overnight and begged him to stop the offensive in the city. Israel believes that around 20 of the hostages being held by Hamas are alive. However, the Palestinian militant group has said that it will only release the captives in return for Palestinian prisoners.
• Netanyahu clarifies Qatar strike on Hamas: Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said that the strike against Hamas officials in Qatar last week was "justified" by the Gulf state's ties to the militant group. During a press conference, he said, "Qatar is connected to Hamas, it bolsters Hamas, it harbours Hamas, it funds Hamas... It has strong levers (that it could pull), but it chose not to. Therefore, our action was entirely justified."

(with inputs from agencies)