Israel announced early Friday that it plans to take over Gaza City, the largest urban area in the territory and one that has already suffered extensive devastation in repeated Israeli raids.
Another major ground operation in one of the few areas of Gaza not already under evacuation orders would likely spark even more mass displacement and further disrupt efforts to deliver desperately needed food in the territory, where experts have warned that famine is unfolding.
Israel has faced mounting calls from many of its closest allies to end the war, and the plan faces opposition within Israel from families of the remaining 20 or so living hostages held by Hamas and members of the security establishment who say there is little to gain militarily at this point.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says more military pressure is needed to achieve Israel's goals of returning the hostages and destroying Hamas.
Israel has repeatedly bombarded Gaza City, and launched major ground operations there within weeks of Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. Several neighborhoods and key infrastructure have been almost completely destroyed.
It was Gaza's most populous city on the eve of the war, home to some 700,000 people, about the population of Washington, D.C. Hundreds of thousands fled under Israeli evacuation orders at the start of the war but many returned during a ceasefire earlier this year.
Israel already controls and has largely destroyed around 75% of Gaza, with most of the population of some 2 million Palestinians now sheltering in Gaza City, the central city of Deir al-Balah and the sprawling displacement camps in the Muwasi area along the coast.
The timing of the operation remains unclear, as Israel will need to mobilize its forces and is expected to order another mass evacuation.
Israel's offensive has already killed over 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many were fighters or civilians. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The U.N. and independent experts view its figures as the most reliable estimate of war casualties. Israel disputes them but has not provided its own.
Another major ground operation will almost certainly lead to the killing of more Israeli soldiers in hit-and-run attacks, eroding domestic support for the war, and could endanger the remaining hostages.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted 251 hostages. Most have since been released in ceasefires or other deals. Fifty remain inside the territory, around 20 of whom are believed by Israel to be alive.
Palestinian militants have released videos in recent days showing emaciated hostages, saying they are suffering the same starvation as the Palestinian population. Hamas is believed to be holding the hostages in tunnels and other secret locations and has hinted it will kill them if Israeli forces draw near.
Former security officials have also spoken out against further military operations, saying there is little to gain after Hamas has been militarily decimated. Israel's military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, reportedly argued during a Security Cabinet meeting that a more sweeping plan to retake all of Gaza would endanger the hostages and put added strain on the army after two years of regional wars.
European countries, including close allies of Israel, have already spoken out against the plan, and Germany, one of its strongest backers, took a stunningly quick decision to halt the export of weapons that could be used in the ongoing campaign. Regional heavyweights Turkey and Saudi Arabia also condemned the plan.
Israel has come under mounting international pressure in recent weeks as images of starving children have shone a light on the worsening hunger crisis. Twenty-eight Western-aligned nations, including some of its closest allies, called for it to end the war last month.
Even U.S. President Donald Trump, the strongest supporter it has ever had in the White House, has expressed concern about the hunger crisis. He has said he wants to end the war and return all the hostages, but also that it's up to Israel to decide its next moves.
Israel has dismissed the criticism, saying it has done everything it can to limit harm to civilians and blaming Hamas for their deaths. Netanyahu has denied there is starvation in Gaza despite eyewitness testimony, data compiled by experts and dire warnings from United Nations officials and major international aid groups operating there.
Netanyahu has said more military pressure is needed to get Hamas to agree to release the hostages and surrender.
But Hamas has already survived one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns since World War II. The militant group says it will only release the remaining hostages in return for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal.
Hamas brushed off the announcement about Gaza City in a statement, saying the “expanding of aggression against our Palestinian people will not be a walk in the park.”
Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
A tent camp in Gaza City is seen from a Jordanian Air Force C-130 plane during an airdrop of humanitarian aid for Palestinians on the Gaza Strip, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh)
Palestinians rush to collect humanitarian aid airdropped by parachutes into Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
PROVO, Utah (AP) — The Utah man charged with killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk returned to court Friday, as his attorneys sought to disqualify prosecutors because the daughter of a deputy county attorney involved in the case attended the rally where Kirk was shot.
Defense attorneys say the relationship represents a conflict of interest after prosecutors said they intend to seek the death penalty for Tyler Robinson.
Robinson, 22, is charged with aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 shooting of Kirk on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem, just a few miles north of the Provo courthouse. He has not yet entered a plea.
The director of a state council that trains prosecutors said he doubted the disqualification attempt would succeed, and he was unaware of any major case where attorneys had been disqualified for bias.
“I would bet against the defense winning this motion,” Utah Prosecution Council Director Robert Church told The Associated Press. “They’ve got to a show a substantial amount of prejudice and bias.”
The prosecutor’s 18-year-old daughter, who attended the event where Kirk was shot, later texted her father in the Utah County Attorney’s Office to describe the chaotic aftermath, according to court filings and testimony. She did not see the shooting but heard a loud pop, according to an affidavit submitted by prosecutors.
Robinson's attorneys say the close connection between the prosecution team and a person present for Kirk's killing “raises serious concerns about past and future prosecutorial decision-making,” according to court documents. They also argue that the “rush” to seek the death penalty is evidence of “strong emotional reactions” by the prosecution and merits disqualification of the entire team.
Defense attorney Richard Novak urged Judge Tony Graf on Friday to bring in the state attorney general’s office in place of Utah County prosecutors to address the alleged conflict of interest. Novak said it was problematic for county prosecutors to litigate on behalf of the state while defending their aptness to stay on the case.
Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray argued that Novak’s last-minute request was aimed at delaying the case against Robinson. His office has asked Graf to deny the disqualification request.
“This is ambush and another stalling tactic,” Gray said.
Several thousand people attended the outdoor rally where Kirk, a co-founder of Turning Point USA who helped mobilize young people to vote for President Donald Trump, was shot as he took audience questions.
The prosecutor's daughter, a student at Utah Valley University, texted a family group chat that day saying, “CHARLIE GOT SHOT.” Gray testified Friday that he was with his colleague when he received that text, and the colleague showed it to him.
In the weeks after the shooting, the young woman did not miss classes and reported no lasting trauma “aside from being scared at the time,” the affidavit said.
Gray emphasized that she was “neither a material witness nor a victim in the case” and that “nearly everything” she knows about Kirk's killing is mere hearsay.
“There is virtually no risk, let alone a significant risk, that it would arouse such emotions in any father-prosecutor as to render him unable to fairly prosecute the case,” he said in a court filing.
The deputy county attorney and his daughter are expected to testify Feb. 3.
If Utah County prosecutors were disqualified, the case would likely shift to prosecutors in a county with enough resources to handle a big case, such as Salt Lake City, or possibly the state attorney general’s office, said Church, the prosecution council director. Graf would have the final say, he said.
Friday's hearing was briefly interrupted when the defense raised concerns that close-up shots of Robinson livestreamed by a local television station could be analyzed by lip readers to see what he was discussing with his attorneys. That prompted Graf to order the camera operator not to film Robinson for the remainder of the hearing.
Prosecutors have said DNA evidence connects Robinson to the killing. Robinson also reportedly texted his romantic partner that he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred.”
At the school where the shooting took place, university president Astrid Tuminez announced Wednesday that she will be stepping down from her role after the semester ends in May.
The state university has been working to expand its police force and add security managers after it was criticized for a lack of key safety measures on the day of the shooting.
Prosecutors are expected to lay out their case against Robinson at a preliminary hearing scheduled to begin May 18.
This story has been updated to correct the name of Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray.
Brown reported from Billings, Montana.
Fourth District Court Judge Tony Graf presides over a hearing for Tyler Robinson in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray addresses the court during a hearing for Tyler Robinson in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, sits beside defense attorney Kathryn Nester during a hearing in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, sits beside defense attorney Kathryn Nester during a hearing in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
FILE - A U.S. flag hangs at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Sept. 17, 2025, over the site where conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed. (AP Photo/Jesse Bedayn, File)
FILE - Tyler Robinson, who is accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing in Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah, Dec. 11, 2025. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool, File)
