Netanyahu says new offensive in Gaza focused on consolidating seizure of territory

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, has said a new “intensified” offensive in Gaza will involve Israeli troops holding on to seized territory and significant displacement of the population. “Gaza is, and must remain, an integral part of a future Palestinian state.”A spokesperson for the British Foreign Office said: “The UK does not support an expansion of Israel’s military operations in Gaza. Much of the 2.3 million population can no longer find enough to eat and the humanitarian system is close to collapse, aid officials in the territory have said. Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 52,535 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to the health ministry there. Israeli strikes across Gaza continued overnight and during Monday, killing at least 32 people in the territory, according to hospital staff.