Gaza updates: Israeli military approves takeover plan

At least 20 Palestinians were killed in a series of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, according to local medical sources.

The bodies were taken to Nasser and Awda hospitals, where witnesses and staff told AFP news agency that several of the dead were shot on their way to aid distribution sites or while awaiting convoys entering Gaza.

Others, including five children, died when an airstrike hit their tent in Gaza City. 

A drone strike in the north of Gaza killed one person, according to medics, while five people were killed by Israeli fire while waiting for aid south of Wadi Gaza in the central part of the territory, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

The Israeli military said it was verifying the reports of civilian deaths at distribution points, with an army spokesman telling dpa news agency that the military was not aware of any casualties caused by army fire in the area of the Netzarim corridor.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would "allow" Palestinians to leave Gaza, as the military announced an upcoming offensive in some of the territory's most populated areas.

"Give them the opportunity to leave. First, from combat zones, and also from the strip if they want," Netanyahu said in an interview aired Tuesday on the Israeli TV station i24.

The Israeli prime minister made the remark as he was discussing the planned offensive in areas that include Gaza City.

"We are not pushing them out but allowing them to leave," he added.

"All those who are concerned for the Palestinians and say they want to help the Palestinians should open their gates and stop lecturing us," Netanyahu said, in reference to Arab countries who have not agreed to take in Palestinian refugees.

Calls to resettle Palestinians outside of Gaza, including from US President Donald Trump, have sparked condemnation from the international community and human rights advocates.

South Sudan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs called reports that it was in negotiations with Israel to resettle displaced Gazans, "baseless."

The Associated Press (AP) news agency published the reports, which cited six sources claiming to be familiar with the situation. These said the US and Israel had reached out to officials in war-torn South Sudan about the possibility of relocating displaced Palestinians from Gaza.

However, Israel has pitched the idea of resettling Gazans in other African nations as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu embraces US President Donald Trump's idea of pushing for the "voluntary migration" of Palestinians caught between warring Israeli troops and Hamas militants.

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel said Wednesday that she was on her way to South Sudan for talks with officials there, though she said the issue of relocation was not on the table.

Germany's Bundeswehr (the armed forces) has airdropped some 192 metric tons of food and aid into the Gaza Strip in 18 missions flown to the enclave since August 1, according to a Ministry of Defense statement.

A ministry spokesperson said two more Bundeswehr missions were scheduled for Wednesday and that the army would continue deliveries for at least one more week, at which point the mission will be reassessed.

Bundeswehr A400M transport planes have so far dropped 386 parachuted pallets of aid over Gaza in a concerted effort with partner nations to provide relief to residents cut off from outside aid by the Israeli government, which closed borders to Gaza in March and expelled international aid organizations that had been delivering assistance prior to that.

The controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which Israel tapped to take over aid deliveries, has proven woefully incapable of providing enough aid to starving Palestinians as the war in Gaza rages on. Moreover, the UN says that nearly 1,400 Palestinians have been killed while trying to get food at GHF sites, many of them shot by Israeli soldiers.

Aid organizations have expressed anger and frustration over the current humanitarian situation and have complained that although such missions provide some relief, airdropping supplies is inefficient due to the high cost of delivering small amounts of aid.  

International news outlets depend on Gaza journalists to learn what is happening inside the enclave.

Now, the Israeli army has killed prominent Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif.

Read the full story about the plight of journalists working amid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Khalil Al-Hayya, the top negotiator for the militant Islamist group Hamas — which started the current war in Gaza with an unprecedented October 7, 2023, attack on Israel — traveled to Cairo, Egypt, on Wednesday for talks on ending the conflict.

Hamas, which has controlled Gaza since 2007, said talks would focus on ending the war, facilitating aid deliveries and "ending the suffering of our Palestinian people."

Reuters news agency, citing Egyptian security sources, reported that talks would also look at the possibility of establishing a comprehensive ceasefire that would see Hamas disarm and relinquish power in the enclave.

Reuters also quoted an anonymous Hamas official saying that all options were on the table but insisting, "laying down arms before the [Israeli] occupation is dismissed is impossible."

Israel's air and ground offensive has displaced most of Gaza's population, destroyed vast areas, and pushed the territory toward famine. According to Gaza's Health Ministry, controlled by Hamas, the offensive has killed over 61,700 Palestinians.

Spanish doctor Raul Incertis volunteered for four months in Gaza.

He describes the conditions inside a hospital relentlessly slammed by mass casualties.

Warning: This report contains graphic images that viewers may find distressing.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of the General Staff Eyal Zamir on Wednesday dropped his opposition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plans for a massive military ground operation in the Gaza Strip.

An IDF statement said Zamir had "approved the main framework for the IDF's operational plan in the Gaza Strip."

Zamir had earlier voiced opposition to the plan due to the risks it presented for IDF soldiers as well as the Israeli hostages still held by Hamas.

Wednesday's announcement follows an Israeli Security Cabinet decision last week ordering the offensive, which is aimed at taking complete control of Gaza City and destroying Hamas cells that Israel says are operating in Gaza's main refugee camps.  

Though no timetable was given for the ground offensive, Israeli warplanes have bombarded the largest city in the Palestinian enclave for days, with Hamas-affiliated health officials claiming that 123 people have been killed there over the past 24 hours.

Gaza’s civil defense agency, which is also controlled by Hamas, said Israeli bombardments have included "very heavy airstrikes targeting civilian homes, possibly including high-rise buildings."

Hello and welcome to DW's coverage of developments in Gaza on Wednesday, August 13, 2025.

Our coverage begins with an Israeli military chief approving a controversial plan for an expanded ground offensive in the Gaza Strip as Hamas negotiators traveled to Egypt for talks about ending the war and returning hostages still held by the terror outfit.

The day also brings more reports of Palestinian civilians killed by Israeli gunfire as they attempted to get food for their families.