Netanyahu tells Gaza City residents to “get out of there”

‘Israeli’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told residents of Gaza City on Monday to evacuate, as the military ramped up its deadly assault on the Palestinian territory's largest urban centre.

‘Israel’ has been intensifying its bombardment of the city in preparation for an operation to conquer it, despite repeated entreaties from Western nations and aid agencies to stop.

Gaza's civil defence agency meanwhile said at least 39 people had been killed by ‘Israel’, including 25 in Gaza City, on Monday.

“I promised you a few days ago that we would destroy Gaza’s terror towers. This is exactly what we are doing. In the past two days, 50 of these towers have fallen. The air force brought them down. Now all of this is just an introduction, just a prelude, to the main intense operation — a ground maneuver of our forces, who are now organizing and gathering in Gaza City,” Netanyahu said.

“And so I say to the residents of Gaza, I am taking advantage of this opportunity, and listen to me carefully: You have been warned. Get out of there!” he adds.

The premier's warning came hours after one of the deadliest operations in Jerusalem since the start of the war, in which two Palestinian gunmen opened fire on a bus, killing six ‘Israeli’ settlers.

The two gunmen were killed by a security officer and an armed civilian, police said.

Following the attack, Netanyahu said: "Let it be clear: these murders strengthen our determination to fight terrorism."

‘Israel's’ defence minister, Israel Katz, had told Hamas earlier on Monday to lay down its arms or face annihilation.

"This is a final warning to the Hamas murderers and rapists in Gaza and in luxury hotels abroad: Release the hostages and put down your weapons -- or Gaza will be destroyed and you will be annihilated," he said on X.

‘Israel’ has faced mounting international pressure to halt its campaign in Gaza, with United Nations rights chief Volker Turk saying Monday he was "horrified by the open use of genocidal rhetoric... by senior Israeli officials".

Ready to negotiate

Trump said Sunday that "the Israelis have accepted my terms. It is time for Hamas to accept as well. I have warned Hamas about the consequences of not accepting. This is my last warning".

Hamas said shortly after that it was ready to "immediately sit at the negotiating table" following what it described as "some ideas from the American side aimed at reaching a ceasefire agreement".

Hamas said it wanted "a clear declaration of the end of the war, a full withdrawal (of Israeli forces) from the Gaza Strip, and the formation of a committee of independent Palestinians to manage the Gaza Strip, which would begin its duties immediately".

US news outlet Axios reported that White House envoy Steve Witkoff sent a new proposal for a Gaza ceasefire deal to Hamas last week.

The White House has not released any details about the proposal, but Trump said "you'll be hearing about it pretty soon".

Hamas agreed last month to a ceasefire proposal that involved a 60-day truce and staggered captive releases.

‘Israel’, however, has demanded Hamas release all the captives at once, disarm and relinquish control of Gaza, among other conditions.

The ‘Israeli’ military says 47 captives remain in Gaza, including 25 believed to be dead.