Israel launches fresh operation in major escalation amid warning 'Gaza is burning'

Israel says "Gaza is burning" after it ramped up strikes on the besieged city overnight.

Local journalists in Gaza City have reported constant, heavy artillery and aerial strikes throughout the night as unconfirmed reports from a number of US and Israeli news sites say the Israeli Defence Force has launched its ground offensive to occupy the port town.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz took to Twitter to announce "Gaza is burning" as the IDF pummels Hamas' "infrastructure". He noted the IDF is fighting for the "release of the hostages and defeat of Hamas".

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The IDF previously warned the millions of innocent Palestinian civilians trapped inside the city to move to "humanitarian areas" as troops moved into position for the ground strike on Monday.

After weeks of devastating airstrikes on the strip's sole port city, the military plans to send Israeli troops on to enemy ground to root out the proscribed terror group.

Images have emerged in recent weeks of buildings and high rise apartment blocks left smoking piles of rubble after the pounding aerial assaults.

According to the Israeli military, 300,000 Palestinians have evacuated the city, but hundreds of thousands still remain.

The defence minister's announcement came as a United Nations commission of inquiry ruled Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians of Gaza.

In a new report, the UN said it is reasonable to conclude that Israel has met four of five genocidal acts outlined in international law.

The UN inquiry belives Israel has killed members of a group, caused said group serious bodily and mental harm, deliberately inflicted conditions calculated to destroy the group, and prevented births.

It said certain statements made by Israeli officials and the pattern of behaviour seen demonstrated by Israeli forces are evidence of genocidal intent.

The report has been branded "distorted and false" by Israel's foreign ministry, which accused the experts of acting as "Hamas proxies".

A spokesperson said the experts relied "entirely on Hamas falsehoods, laundered and repeated by others" that had "already been thoroughly debunked".

"In stark contrast to the lies in the report, Hamas is the party that attempted genocide in Israel - murdering 1,200 people, raping women, burning families alive, and openly declaring its goal of killing every Jew," the spokesperson added.

Jerusalem is facing increased international pressure over the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip - where a famine was declared at the end of August.

Benjamin Netanyahu appears set on wiping out Hamas and retrieving the remaining hostages despite calls for de-escalation to save the lives of Palestinians facing unimaginable hardship.

With an onslaught of strikes on Monday making way for tanks and troops to enter the city later that night, the death toll is expected to surge.

Donald Trump has claimed the hostages were being moved above ground to be used as "human shields" as he discussed Israel's invasion on his Truth Social platform.

He wrote: "I hope the Leaders of Hamas know what they’re getting into if they do such a thing. This is a human atrocity, the likes of which few people have ever seen before."

He warned: "Don’t let this happen or, ALL 'BETS' ARE OFF. RELEASE ALL HOSTAGES NOW!"

Netanyahu responded, thanking Trump for being an "unflinching" supporter in his country's "battle against Hamas and the release of all our hostages".

Since Israel launched its offensive almost two years ago, around 65,000 Palestinians - the majority of them women and children - have been slaughtered, the Gaza Health Ministry, which is run by Hamas, reported.

Netanyahu gave the green light for the launch of the offensive. However, several of his top security officials in the IDF and the Mossad espionage agency reportedly advised him against it.

Among their fears are the murder of the hostages and the possibility of Israel having to rule over the two million residents of the war-battered strip. By fighting Hamas soldier to soldier on its own ground, they could also fail in their objective.

Before Monday's operation got udnerway, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Netanyahu discussed the ongoing conflict.

Rubio said: "We have to remember who we're dealing with here - and that is a group of people that have dedicated their lives to violence and barbarism."

According to Axios, the diplomat relayed Trump's support for the ground offensive but noted he wanted it over as soon as possible.

Twenty hostages are understood to still be under the control of Hamas operatives located in Gaza City.