Israel Threatens to ‘Destroy Gaza City’ as Offensive Looms Amidst Hostage Talks

Defence Minister Israel Katz issued a stark warning to Hamas, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved a plan to seize the city, even as ceasefire negotiations continue and international warnings mount.

August 22, 2025: Israel Defense Minister, Israel Katz, has directly threatened to destroy Gaza City if Hamas doesn’t agree to disarm, release all of the captives, and meet Tel Aviv’s demands for ending the war. This is a big rise in military readiness and rhetoric.

“The gates of hell will open upon the heads of Hamas’s murderers and rapists in Gaza until they agree to Israel’s conditions for ending the war,” Katz wrote in the warning, which she shared on social media. He went on to say that if no deal is made, Gaza, which is the “capital of Hamas,” will be in the same state as Rafah and Beit Hanoun, two cities that were mostly destroyed in past operations.

The threat came at the same time as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had given the military authority to take over Gaza City, which would be a big step up in the confrontation. In a video statement, Netanyahu linked the imminent attack to the drive to liberate prisoners, saying, “These two things—defeating Hamas and freeing all our hostages—go hand in hand.” The Israeli Defense Ministry has given the go-ahead for the call-up of roughly 60,000 reservists to help with the operation.

People at home and abroad are strongly against the planned offensive. The families of the surviving Israeli hostages are worried that their loved ones may get a “death sentence” because of such a big operation. The UN and humanitarian groups all over the world have warned of an impending humanitarian crisis and told people to get ready for another mass migration. The Gaza Health Ministry, which the UN trusts, says that at least 62,000 Palestinians had been killed since the fighting began in October 2023. Most of them were women and children.

There is still no word on a new round of ceasefire talks. Mediators are waiting for a formal Israeli response to a new proposal that Hamas has already agreed to. Israel had demanded the immediate release of all remaining prisoners, therefore the agreement seems to call for a phased release of captives.