Israel's war cabinet voted on Monday to occupy Gaza City, a move condemned at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council later that day. On Tuesday the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was "at the beginning of a new state of combat".

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel plans to widen its coming offensive beyond Gaza City to the last areas not yet under Israeli control.

Israel's new offensive in Gaza City could take weeks to start, leaving the door open for a ceasefire, officials say, even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it would get underway "fairly quickly" and end the war with Hamas' defeat.