'Gaza Strip cut into two', says Israeli military amid ongoing war

Amid the Israel-Gaza war, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that significant strikes have been carried out and the Gaza Strip has been ‘cut into two’.

Israeli Army spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that the Israeli forces "have encircled Gaza City" and "now there exists a south Gaza and a north Gaza".

The Israeli military is “ready to strike in the north at any moment”, Israel’s chief of general staff, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, said in a statement.

The Hamas-run health ministry said at least 9,770 people had been killed in more than four weeks of war in Gaza. The operation started after the militants killed more than 1,400 people and took over 240 hostages in the deadliest attack in Israel's history.

Soldiers engaged in house-to-house combat on Sunday as tanks and armoured bulldozers churned through the sand in footage released by the army.

Arab leaders are calling for a ceasefire, which the US opposes in favor of “humanitarian pauses” to increase aid to Gaza and make room for possible hostage releases.

Earlier in the day, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel would not agree to a ceasefire until the Hamas terror group releases the hostages.

"This strike is like an earthquake," Gaza City resident Alaa Abu Hasera said in a devastated area where entire blocks have been reduced to rubble.

Israel launched its offensive last month following a surprise attack by Hamas militants. Officials say that 1,400 people – mostly civilians – were killed in the October 7 clash, triggering the bloodiest escalation of the Israel-Palestine conflict in years.