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Friday, December 05, 2025 | Daily Newspaper published by GPPC Doha, Qatar.

Tag Results for "Gaza" (202 articles)

Destroyed buildings in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border between Gaza and Israel on Sunday. REUTERS
Region

US 'eyes Gaza control for at least a decade post-war'

A post-war plan for Gaza is circulating within President Donald Trump's administration that would see the US administer the war-torn enclave for at least a decade, the relocation of Gaza's population and its rebuilding as a tourist resort and manufacturing hub, the Washington Post reported Sunday.The Washington Post said that according to a 38-page prospectus it had seen, Gaza's 2mn population would at least temporarily leave either through "voluntary" departures to another country or into restricted areas within the territory during reconstruction. Reuters previously reported there is a proposal to build large-scale camps called "Humanitarian Transit Areas" inside — and possibly outside — Gaza to house the Palestinian population. That plan carried the name of the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF, a controversial US-backed aid group.Anyone who owns land would be offered a "digital token" in exchange for rights to redevelop their property, the Post reported, adding that each Palestinian who left would be provided with $5,000 in cash and subsidies to cover four years of rent. They would also be provided with a year of food, it added.The Post said the plan is called the "Gaza Reconstitution, Economic Acceleration and Transformation Trust, or GREAT Trust," and was developed by the GHF.GHF coordinates with the Israeli military and uses private US security and logistics companies to get food aid into Gaza. It is favoured by the Trump administration and Israel to carry out humanitarian efforts in Gaza as opposed to the UN-led system. In early August, the UN said more than 1,000 people have been killed trying to receive aid in Gaza since the GHF began operating in May 2025, most of them shot by Israeli forces operating near GHF sites.The White House and State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the plan to rebuild Gaza appears to fall in line with previous comments made by Trump.On February 4, Trump first publicly said that the US should "take over" the war-battered enclave and rebuild it as "the Riviera of the Middle East" after resettling the Palestinian population elsewhere.Trump's comments angered many Palestinians and humanitarian groups about the possible forced relocation from Gaza.

Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion on Monday. REUTERS
Region

Israel pounds Gaza suburbs; at least 30 killed as people flee

Israeli forces pounded the suburbs of Gaza City overnight from the air and ground, destroying homes and driving more families out of the area.Residents of Sheikh Radwan, one of the largest neighbourhoods of Gaza City, said the territory had been under Israeli tank shelling and airstrikes throughout Saturday and yesterday, forcing families to seek shelter in the western parts of the city.The Israeli military has gradually escalated its operations around Gaza City over the past three weeks, and on Friday it ended temporary pauses in the area that had allowed for aid deliveries, designating it a "dangerous combat zone"."They are crawling into the heart of the city where hundreds of thousands are sheltering, from the east, north, and south, while bombing those areas from the air and ground to scare people to leave," said Rezik Salah, a father of two, from Sheikh Radwan.Local health authorities said Israeli gunfire and strikes killed at least 30 people yesterday, including 13 who tried to get food from near an aid site in central Gaza. The Israeli military said it was not aware of casualties near humanitarian aid distribution points in central Gaza.An Israeli official said Netanyahu's security cabinet was to convene late yesterday to discuss the next stages of the planned offensive to seize Gaza City.A full-scale offensive is not expected to start for weeks. Israel says it wants to evacuate the civilian population before moving more ground forces in.Netanyahu confirmed yesterday that Israeli forces had targeted Abu Ubaida, the spokesperson of Hamas' armed wing. Defence Minister Israel Katz said that Abu Ubaida was killed. Two Hamas officials contacted by Reuters did not respond to requests for comment.Gaza health authorities said 15 people, including five children, were killed in the attack on a residential building in the heart of Gaza City.Abu Ubaida, also known as Hozayfa Al-Khalout, is a well-known figure to Palestinians and Israelis alike, close to Hamas' top military leaders and in charge of delivering the group's messages, often via video, for around two decades.On Saturday, Red Cross head Mirjana Spoljaric said an evacuation from the city would provoke a massive population displacement that no other area in the enclave is equipped to absorb, with shortages of food, shelter and medical supplies."People who have relatives in the south left to stay with them. Others, including myself, didn't find a space as Deir Al-Balah and Mawasi are overcrowded," said Ghada, a mother of five from the city's Sabra neighborhood.Around half of the enclave's more than 2mn people are presently in Gaza City. Several thousand were estimated to have left the city for central and southern areas of the enclave.

A boy climbs from out of the rubble of a collapsed building that was hit by bombardment in the Nuseirat camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip, Saturday.
Region

660,000 Gaza children denied school for third year :UNRWA

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) confirmed Saturday that 660,000 children in the Gaza Strip are out of school for the third year in a row due to the ongoing war of annihilation waged by the Israeli occupation since Oct 2023. The war in Gaza is a war on children and must stop. Children must be always protected, UNRWA added in a statement. It reaffirmed the right of children to education, stressing that 660,000 children remain outside classrooms for the third consecutive year as a direct result of the war. In Gaza, children are at risk of becoming a lost generation due to the ongoing conflict, UNRWA stressed, calling for the importance of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and allowing children to return to their schools and lives. Since the onset of the Gaza genocide, over 17,085 school students have been killed, along with over 1,261 college students. According to the latest figures of the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education for the period between Oct 7, 2023, and August 2025, over 25,213 school students have been wounded, along with 2,671 college students.

Gulf Times
Region

Fifteen Palestinians Martyred in Israeli Strike on Displaced Persons' Tents in Gaza

Fifteen Palestinians were martyred and others injured on Saturday in an Israeli occupation airstrike targeting displaced persons' tents in Al-Nasr and Al-Zaytoun neighborhoods in Gaza City.Local sources reported that Israeli occupation warplanes bombed tents for the displaced near the Youth and Sports Roundabout in Al-Nasr neighborhood, killing 11 people and injuring others. Four more people were martyred and others wounded in a separate strike on Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, southeast of the city.The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced yesterday that the death toll from the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, had risen to 63,025 martyrs, with 159,159 injured.

Gulf Times
Region

UNRWA: Intensified Israeli military operations in Gaza to expose a million people to new forced displacement

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) stated that intensified Israeli military operations in Gaza City will expose around one million people to new forced displacement.The agency added in a post on the X platform Friday, that any further escalation would exacerbate suffering and push more Palestinian civilians toward catastrophe, amid existing famine.It pointed out that the ongoing Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip and evacuation orders are forcing entire families to leave their homes once again amid fear and destruction.Members of the UN Security Council, except the United States, called on Wednesday in a joint statement for an immediate, permanent, and unconditional ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, a significant increase in aid across the sector, and for Israel, the occupying power, to immediately and unconditionally lift all restrictions on the delivery of aid.They also called on Israel to immediately reverse its decision to take control of Gaza City.

Gulf Times
Region

WFP warns food aid to Gaza insufficient to prevent starvation

The World Food Program (WFP) has warned that food aid currently reaching the Gaza Strip remains far from enough to avert widespread starvation.WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain said in a press statement that the organization is now able to deliver about 100 aid trucks per day into Gaza, compared with 600 trucks daily during a two-month ceasefire that ended in mid-March.She stressed that this amount is not nearly sufficient to ensure people are adequately nourished and protected from starvation.McCain, who visited Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis this week - including a clinic supporting children and pregnant and lactating women - highlighted persistent challenges in delivering aid to vulnerable populations deeper inside Gaza."What we saw was utter devastation. "It was basically flattened, and we saw people who were very seriously hungry and malnourished," McCain said.She added that the visit underscored the urgent need for sustained access across the Strip to consistently provide essential food supplies.A report released Friday by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) - a global hunger monitoring body - found that about 514,000 people, nearly a quarter of Gaza's population, are already facing famine conditions in Gaza City and surrounding areas.The report also warned that famine could spread to the central and southern districts of Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis by the end of September.Israel dismissed the IPC report as "deeply flawed" and urged the body to retract it on Wednesday, reiterating its rejection of previous warnings as false and biased.

Mother of Khaled al-Shinbari, a Palestinian teenager who was killed in Israeli fire while seeking aid in northern Gaza, according to medics, holds his shoes, during Khaled's funeral,at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City Thursday. (Reuters)
Region

Israel kills 16, prepares to seize Gaza City

Israeli forces killed at least 16 Palestinians across Gaza Thursday and wounded dozens in the south of the enclave, local medics said, as residents reported that Gaza City suburbs were under intensifying bombardment.The Israeli military is preparing to seize Gaza City, the territory's largest urban centre, despite international calls on Israel to desist over fears that a ground offensive would cause significant casualties and displace the roughly one million Palestinians sheltering there.In Gaza City residents said families were fleeing their homes, with most heading towards the coast, as Israeli forces shelled the eastern suburbs of Shejaia, Zeitoun, and Sabra. Thursday's deaths took to 71 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in the past 24 hours, Gaza's health ministry said.The Israeli military said in a statement that it was continuing to operate throughout the enclave.The military had killed three Hamas fighters in the past day, it said, without saying how they had identified the individuals.A spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross said 31 patients, most with gunshot wounds, were admitted to the Red Cross Field Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Four of them were declared dead on arrival."Patients said they were injured while trying to reach food distribution sites," the spokesperson said, adding that since the aid hubs began operations on May 27, the hospital had treated over 5,000 "weapon-wounded patients".United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters Israel's expanded military operation in Gaza City would have "devastating consequences".Guterres also said UN-led humanitarian efforts in the devastated Palestinian enclave were being blocked or delayed and people were dying of hunger as a "result of deliberate decisions that defy basic humanity"."Starvation of the civilian population must never be used as a method of warfare. Civilians must be protected. Humanitarian access must be unimpeded," he said. "No more excuses. No more obstacles. No more lies."With the enclave in the grips of a humanitarian crisis, the Gaza health ministry said Thursday that four more people, including two children, had died of malnutrition and starvation in the enclave, raising the number of deaths from such causes to 317 people, including 121 children, since the war started.Dozens of Palestinians were admitted to Nasser Hospital in nearby Khan Younis with gunshot wounds, according to a doctor there who said soldiers had fired on a crowd of Palestinians that had gathered near an aid distribution hub.Mohammad Saqer, the head of nursing, told Reuters most of the patients had been admitted with gunshot wounds to the upper parts of the body and that many were in critical condition.The patients had reported they were shot as they sought to collect food from a distribution site in Rafah, he said.The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani (left) and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty at the press conference at New Alamein City Thursday. (Reuters)
Region

Qatar, Egypt committed to reach a solution that ends Gaza war: PM

HE Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani affirmed Thursday Qatar and Egypt’s commitment to reach a solution that ends the Israeli war on Gaza, despite all attempts to distort, disrupt, and undermine these efforts.His Excellency stressed that without the bilateral partnership and the scale of their efforts, the previous ceasefire agreement in the Strip would not have been achieved.He made these remarks during a joint press conference with Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Badr Abdel Aatty on the sidelines of the Sixth Session of the Qatari-Egyptian Joint Higher Committee in Cairo.The PM stated that the international community must exert pressure on Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and stop the famine currently affecting the Palestinian people, expressing hope for a ceasefire agreement to be reached as soon as possible.He noted that his visit to Cairo comes within the framework of the Committee's sixth session and reflects the vision of both countries' leadership to deepen bilateral relations, which have witnessed remarkable development in recent years, adding that the recent visit of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to Qatar was a significant milestone in advancing these relations.HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs pointed out that the Committee's discussions covered various issues, confirming the alignment of views between Qatar and Egypt on many regional matters.He emphasised their joint efforts to de-escalate tensions in several Arab countries, including Lebanon, Syria and Sudan.He also highlighted that Lebanon and Syria are witnessing irresponsible Israeli actions that threaten the security of the entire region, unfortunately without any deterrent response.In another context, the PM underscored the strong fraternal ties between Qatar and Egypt, rooted in solid relations between the two peoples and leaderships, as well as the economic foundations currently being built to establish a new phase of joint economic co-operation.He reviewed the package of direct Qatari investments in Egypt previously announced in Doha, amounting to approximately US$7.5bn, noting that several bilateral agreements and projects will be finalised in the coming weeks.He praised the growth in trade volume between the two countries and looked forward to further expansion in the future, emphasising that joint co-operation is not limited to the economic field but also includes cultural, agricultural, social solidarity, and societal transformation sectors.He considered the memoranda of understanding signed Thursday with the Egyptian side an important step toward diversifying the base of co-operation between the two countries.The PM underlined that there is a valuable opportunity for consultation between the two countries, which has not stopped and is not limited to joint meetings, but also continues through daily communications.He commended the scale of efforts made by both sides to reach a halt to the genocide being inflicted on the Palestinian people in Gaza, adding that it is shameful that these conditions have persisted for months without any action from the international community, appreciating the partnership with the United States and all efforts by Arab and Islamic countries that support the Qatari and Egyptian initiatives.He also explained that the past period witnessed intensive work to reach common ground for an agreement on the release of hostages and detainees, the exchange of prisoners, and a ceasefire as a prelude to ending the war. However, these efforts were unfortunately met with further disregard.He affirmed the great responsibility that lies with the international community to act in ending the famine and siege affecting the Palestinian people in Gaza.The PM noted that the Committee also discussed developments with regard to Iranian nuclear file, which represents a critical security issue for all countries in the region, underscoring the importance of reaching a diplomatic solution that ensures regional stability, which cannot be achieved through war but through diplomatic means.He called on Arab countries and regional states to cooperate in reaching such solutions.The Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates Dr Badr Abdel Aatty affirmed that the Sixth Session of the Qatari-Egyptian Joint Higher Committee witnessed the signing of several agreements and memoranda of understanding, most notably a co-operation agreement in the field of social insurance between Egypt's Ministry of Social Solidarity and the General Retirement and Social Insurance Authority of Qatar, in addition to a memorandum of understanding for co-operation in the agricultural sector between the two brotherly countries.During the conference, he announced the launch of a political consultation mechanism between the foreign ministries of both countries, as well as the signing of the minutes of the sixth session of the Committee, which saw broad ministerial participation from both sides, including the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health, the Minister of Social Solidarity, and the Minister of Agriculture on the Egyptian side.He said that the convening of this session and its outcomes was a reflection of the commitment of both Qatar and Egypt to build on the results of the previous committee meeting, hosted in Doha in 2024, and the subsequent reciprocal high-level visits.He noted that the discussions addressed ways to enhance and develop bilateral relations while also pointing to an increase in excess of 54% in trade exchange between the two countries over the past year, in addition to Qatar's commitment to inject investments in Egypt amounting to $7.5bn, with work underway on specific projects to be announced in the coming weeks.Aatty said the Egyptian side presented promising investment opportunities and legislative and procedural reforms adopted by Egypt to facilitate the work of investors, including Qatari investors.He affirmed the commitment to empower the private sector in both countries and enhance its role in supporting the economy and development, confirming that the coming phase will witness the flow of more Qatari investments into priority sectors, including agriculture, food security, real estate development, tourism and hospitality, transport and logistics, industrial localisation, and renewable energy.Regarding regional and international issues, the Egyptian foreign minister said the discussions addressed developments in the Palestinian cause, affirming the alignment of Qatari and Egyptian views on the need for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, ensuring full access to humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages and a number of Palestinian detainees, paving the way for a permanent end to the aggression and a comprehensive political settlement that leads to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.He also stressed the firm rejection by both countries of any attempts at forced displacement of the Palestinian people, considering it a red line that cannot be accepted under any pretext.He noted the continued Qatari-Egyptian efforts, in coordination with the United States and regional and international parties, to reach an agreement for a 60-day ceasefire during which negotiations would be held to end the war, ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid, and prepare for an early recovery and reconstruction conference for Gaza, with the participation of Qatar.Aatty highlighted that the discussions also covered the situations in Sudan, Libya, Syria, and Lebanon, in addition to developments in the Red Sea region, freedom of navigation, and the Iranian nuclear issue, affirming the alignment of Qatari and Egyptian positions on these issues and their commitment to resolve the same through peaceful means, away from military solutions.

Gulf Times
Region

Targeting Journalists in Gaza is a systematic policy to suppress free speech

Speaking to Qatar News Agency (QNA) regarding the turning point in the Palestinian cause and the targeting of journalists in Gaza, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Qatar Press Center, Saad Al Rumaihi stated that the Israeli assaults on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, represent a historic shift in the course of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, as the people of Gaza stood alone in the face of this brutal aggression that did not distinguish between people and stone.He added that the Palestinian people have recorded a heroic epic that will be immortalized in history. Now, as the second year nears its end, the struggle and resistance of Gaza's people continue, despite the imbalance of power between the two sides.Regarding the objective of the Israeli entity in continuing its aggression on the devastated Strip, Al Rumaihi stressed that people cannot learn the facts and what is happening on the ground and the course of battles, except through journalists and media professionals who deliver information to the public, as known in wars and major events.He added that they are unknown soldiers who stand bravely so that the world can see, hear, and read the news of these events and understand the reality and what is happening.Therefore, he accentuated, the Israeli occupation has deliberately silenced these voices as long as they convey to the world the true image and the tragedies faced by the people of Gaza.He highlighted that the occupation can only achieve this through the most heinous and extreme violations, unfortunately, through the physical elimination of these great journalists.He underscored that the Israeli assaults on Palestinian journalists clearly reveal Israel's insistence on imposing its unilateral media narrative, which contradicts the reality on the ground.In light of the world's failure and inability to enact binding laws to protect journalists and media professionals and defend them against Israeli arrogance, the Chairman of the Qatar Press Center affirmed in his statements to QNA, that the situation requires urgent action to protect journalists, so that the matter does not remain a mere dream difficult to achieve.Al Rumaihi confirmed that Israel continues its arrogance without any deterrent punishment from international bodies and organizations concerned with humanitarian and journalistic affairs.He reiterated the need to capitalize on the wave of international outrage and the storm of criticism directed at Israeli policy due to its continuous and deliberate targeting of civilians in the Gaza Strip, including journalists, emphasizing the importance of harnessing the growing global humanitarian sentiment toward the Palestinian cause and Al Aqsa Mosque.He pointed out that the demonstrations and sit-ins that have swept many countries around the world now reflect this solidarity, even in the United States of America, where university campuses have turned into platforms for defending Gaza and its people.He explained that the Qatar Press Center has sought and continues to support the steadfastness of the people of Gaza through numerous media initiatives, seminars, exhibitions, news coverage, and other means, which it considers a duty as it lives through these events and follows their developments.The Chairman of the Qatar Press Center concluded by emphasizing the necessity of standing by the Palestinian people, moving beyond mere condemnation and denunciation, which is all we currently possess.He added that specialized global organizations must exert more pressure on Israel to stop its aggression against the Palestinian people, enabling them to obtain their most basic rights to live in safety and dignity.With every Israeli assault on media workers in Gaza and the Palestinian territories, renewed calls emerge from all press unions, media, human rights, and legal organizations around the world for explicit condemnation of these repeated crimes, with the urgent need to put an end to them, so that Israel does not succeed in its attempts to silence voices and images and prevent the transmission of the truth about the crimes it commits against the Palestinian people.

Gulf Times
Region

Several Palestinians, including mother and child, martyred in occupation strikes on Gaza

Three Palestinians, including a woman and her child, were martyred on Thursday in Israeli occupation shelling of Al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip and Al-Rimal neighborhood west of Gaza City.The Palestinian news agency (WAFA) said that a woman and her child were martyred when the Israeli occupation bombed a home in Al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.Meanwhile, one civilian was martyred and others were injured when the occupation bombed a residential apartment near the Palestine Tower on Al-Shuhada Street in Al-Rimal neighborhood west of Gaza City, local sources said.Several injuries were reported as Israeli fighter jets struck a tent for displaced people in the Al-Shati refugee camp west of the city, at a time Israeli artillery fired shells toward Street 8 south of Gaza City, with no injuries reported.In Khan Younis, a Palestinian man was martyred following an Israeli airstrike in the city center. Meanwhile, a child was injured as Israeli forces bombed a displacement tent in Badr Camp in northern Al-Shati. Artillery also shelled a house belonging to a family in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza.Since Oct. 7, 2023, the occupation has been committing genocide in Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring all international appeals and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it.The genocide has left 62,819 martyred, 158,629 wounded, most of them children and women, more than 9,000 missing, hundreds of thousands displaced, and a famine that has killed 303 Palestinians, including 117 children.

Palestinian women and children wait to receive food portions from a charity kitchen in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday.
Qatar

NGO says starving Gaza children too weak to cry

The head of Save the Children described in horrific detail Wednesday the slow agony of starving children in Gaza, saying they are so weak they do not even cry.Addressing a Security Council meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the president of the international charity, Inger Ashing, said famine — declared by the UN last week to be happening in Gaza — is not just a dry technical term."When there is not enough food, children become acutely malnourished, and then they die slowly and painfully. This, in simple terms, is what famine is," said Ashing.She went on to describe what happens when children die of hunger over the course of several weeks, as the body first consumes its own fat to survive and when that is gone, literally consumes itself as it eats muscles and vital organs."Yet our clinics are almost silent. Now, children do not have the strength to speak or even cry out in agony. They lie there, emaciated, quite literally wasting away," said Ashing.She insisted aid groups have been warning loudly that famine was coming as Israel prevented food and other essentials from entering Gaza over the course of two years of war triggered by the Hamas storming of Israel in October 2023."Everyone in this room has a legal and moral responsibility to act to stop this atrocity," said Ashing.The UN officially declared famine in Gaza on Friday, blaming what it called systematic obstruction of aid by Israel during more than 22 months of war.A UN-backed hunger monitor called the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative said famine was affecting 500,000 people in the Gaza governorate, which covers about a fifth of the Palestinian territory including Gaza City.The IPC projected that the famine would expand by the end of September to cover around two-thirds of Gaza.

Israeli army main battle tanks move along the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel Wednesday. (AFP)
Region

Israel kills 24 more as Trump eyes post-war Gaza plan

The Israeli military pressed operations around Gaza City Wednesday, as President Donald Trump prepared to host a White House meeting on post-war plans for the shattered Palestinian territory.Israel is under mounting pressure both at home and abroad to end its almost two-year campaign in Gaza, where the United Nations has declared a famine.Mediators have circulated a truce proposal which has been accepted by Palestinian group Hamas, but Israel has yet to give an official response.On the ground, Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least 24 people Wednesday.The Israeli military, which is preparing to conquer Gaza City, said troops were operating on the outskirts of the territory's largest city "to locate and dismantle terror infrastructure sites".As aid groups have warned against expanding the Israeli offensive, the army's Arabic-language spokesman, Avichay Adraee, said on X that Gaza City's evacuation was "inevitable".The vast majority of the Gaza Strip's population of more than 2mn people have been displaced at least once during the war.In Jabalia, just north of Gaza City, resident Hamad al-Karawi said he had left his home after a message broadcast from a drone ordered people to evacuate immediately."We scattered out onto the streets with no place or home to take refuge in," he told AFP.The UN estimates that nearly a million people currently live in Gaza governorate, which includes Gaza City and its surroundings in the north of the territory.Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said the US president was to host top officials at the White House later Wednesday to thrash out a detailed plan for post-war Gaza."It's a very comprehensive plan we're putting together," Witkoff told Fox News, without offering more details.Trump stunned the world earlier this year when he suggested the United States should take control of the Gaza Strip, clear out its inhabitants and redevelop it as seaside real estate.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the proposal which sparked a global outcry.In Gaza City's Zeitoun neighbourhood Wednesday, residents reported heavy Israeli bombardment overnight."Warplanes struck several times, and drones fired throughout the night," said Tala al-Khatib, 29."Some neighbours have fled... But wherever you flee, death follows you," she said.AFP footage showed thick smoke rising into the sky following air strikes on parts of Gaza City.Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed on Friday to destroy the city if Hamas does not agree to end the war on Israel's terms.Zeitoun resident Abdel Hamid al-Sayfi, 62, said he had avoided going outside for more than 24 hours."Whoever steps outside is fired upon by the drones," he told AFP by telephone.Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.Speaking after a security cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Netanyahu declined to share what had been decided.The Israeli leader last week said he ordered immediate negotiations aimed at securing the release of all remaining captives, while also doubling down on the plan to seize Gaza City.Out of 251 hostages seized during Hamas's 2023 attack, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.Key mediator Qatar said on Tuesday it was still "waiting for an answer" from Israel on the latest ceasefire proposal, which would see the staggered release of hostages in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli custody over an initial 60-day truce.