"Gaza is burning," Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a post to X on Tuesday as the Israel Defense Forces began its offensive on the largest city in the Gaza Strip.

Experts commissioned by the U.N. Human Rights Council say Israeli forces are "continuing to commit" genocide in Gaza. Israel calls the report Hamas lies.

Israel pulled its settlers and soldiers from Gaza in 2005 but maintained control of its borders, coasts, and airspace.

The IDF’s major offensive to capture Gaza City and destroy Hamas infrastructure in Gaza City is underway; 40 percent of the city’s population has been evacuated.

Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, an independent commission of inquiry of the UN Human Rights Council said on Tuesday. Four of the five genocidal acts listed in the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide have been carried out,

Regarding recognition of the statehood of Palestine, with regard to international discussions, we are focusing on the trends with great interest,' says Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi - Anadolu Ajansı

The Qatari authorities are focused on protecting the country's sovereignty and preventing new attacks on its territory, and participating in mediation for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip is currently not their priority.

The Gaza Strip came under heavy bombing overnight on Monday, as Israel launched a barrage of strikes towards Gaza City, the enclave's biggest city. Defence Minister Israel Katz wrote on X on Tuesday that "Gaza is burning,