The Israeli military declared Gaza City "a dangerous combat zone" on Friday ahead of a looming offensive to conquer the Palestinian territory's largest city after almost two years of devastating war.

Israel is under mounting pressure at home and abroad to end its offensive in Gaza, where the vast majority of the population has been displaced at least once and the United Nations has declared a famine.

The Israeli military, however, is gearing up to expand the fighting and seize Gaza City, with its Arabic-language spokesman saying on Friday: "We are not waiting.

"We have begun preliminary operations and the initial stages of the attack on Gaza City, and we are currently operating with great force on the outskirts of the city," Avichay Adraee said on X.

Late on Friday, Israeli military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said in a video statement his forces were "enhancing the strikes in the Gaza City area, and we will intensify our efforts in the coming weeks".

The UN estimates that nearly a million people currently live in Gaza governorate, which includes Gaza City and its surroundings.

The UN declared a famine in Gaza governorate last week, blaming "systematic obstruction" by Israel of humanitarian aid deliveries.

A military statement on Friday said that Gaza City now "constitutes a dangerous combat zone", and daily pauses in military activity that had allowed limited food deliveries would no longer apply there.

The military did not call for the population to leave immediately, but Adraee said earlier this week that the city's evacuation was "inevitable".

In southern Gaza City on Friday, AFP footage showed Palestinians picking through the wreckage of a building following an Israeli strike. 

Mohammed Abu Qamar, 42, who is originally from Jabalia camp in northern Gaza but was heading south, said his "heart is burning".

"We don't want to leave our home. We're exhausted," he told AFP by telephone. "Death is closing in around us."

'Fear chases us'

In a statement on Thursday, COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body that oversees civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, said it was undertaking preparations "for moving the population southward for their protection".

Aid groups on the ground have warned against expanding the military campaign.

On Friday, Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, warned that there were "nearly one million people between the city and the northern governorate who basically have nowhere to go, have no resources even to move". 

Abdul Karim Al-Damagh, 64, told AFP he was heading south and that it was the fifth time he had been displaced.

"Today, once again, I must abandon what remains of my home and memories... The south may be a bit quieter than here, but it's not safe -- fear chases us, and death is always near," he said.

Spokesman Adraee said the military would intensify its strikes until all hostages held in Gaza were returned and Hamas was dismantled "militarily and politically".

The military said it had recovered the remains of two hostages during an operation in Gaza. 

It identified one as Ilan Weiss, who was killed in the Hamas attack that triggered the war and his body taken to Gaza. The name of the second hostage has yet to be released.

Hamas warned Israel that its planned offensive in Gaza City would subject hostages in the area to the "same risks" as its fighters. 

"We will take care of the prisoners the best we can, and they will be with our fighters in the combat and confrontation zones, subjected to the same risks and the same living conditions", the spokesperson for Hamas's armed wing, Abu Obeida said.

Of the 251 hostages seized during the October 2023 attack, 47 are still being held in Gaza, around 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

'Endless' horrors

Gaza's civil defense agency reported at least 55 people killed by Israeli forces across the Palestinian territory on Friday.

Asked for comment by AFP, the Israeli military requested coordinates to look into the reports.

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 defense agency or the Israeli military.

UN chief Antonio Guterres has condemned the "endless catalogue of horrors" in Gaza, calling for accountability and warning of potential war crimes.

Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 63,025 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the UN considers reliable.

by Alice Chancellor