Israel prepares to move Palestinians to southern Gaza as Israelis urge mass protest over war

NAHARIYA, Israel (AP) — Israel announced Saturday that it is preparing to move Palestinians from combat zones to southern Gaza as plans move ahead for a military offensive in some of the territory's most populated areas.

The Israeli military body in charge of humanitarian aid to Gaza, COGAT, said the supply of tents to the territory would resume on Sunday. The military said it had no comment on when the mass movement of Palestinians would begin, but Defense Minister Israel Katz said on social media that “we are now in the stage of discussions to finalize the plan to defeat Hamas in Gaza."

Meanwhile, anxious families of Israeli hostages called for a “nationwide day of stoppage” in Israel on Sunday to express growing frustration over 22 months of war.

Families of hostages fear the coming offensive further endangers the 50 hostages remaining in Gaza, just 20 of them thought to still be alive. They and other Israelis were horrified by the recent release of videos showing emaciated hostages speaking under duress and pleading for help and food.

The families and supporters have pressed the government for a deal to stop the war — a call that some former Israeli army and intelligence chiefs have made as well in recent weeks.

A group representing the families has urged Israelis into the streets on Sunday. “Across the country, hundreds of citizen-led initiatives will pause daily life and join the most just and moral struggle: the struggle to bring all 50 hostages home,” it said in a statement.

“I want to believe that there is hope, and it will not come from above, it will come only from us,” said Dana Silberman Sitton, sister of Shiri Bibas and aunt of Kfir and Ariel Bibas, who were killed in captivity.

She spoke at a weekly rally in Tel Aviv, along with Pushpa Joshi, sister of kidnapped Nepalese hostage Bipin Joshi, a student seized from a kibbutz.

“I miss my best friend,” Pushpa said.

An Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed a baby girl and her parents on Saturday, Nasser hospital officials and witnesses said. Motasem al-Batta, his wife and the girl were killed in their tent in the crowded Muwasi area.

“Two and a half months, what has she done?" neighbor Fathi Shubeir asked, sweating as temperatures in the shattered territory soared above 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius). “They are civilians in an area designated safe.”

Israel's military said it couldn't comment on the strike without more details. It said it is dismantling Hamas’ military capabilities and takes precautions not to harm civilians.

Muwasi is one of the heavily populated areas in Gaza where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel plans to widen the coming military offensive, along with Gaza City and “central camps” — an apparent reference to the built-up Nuseirat and Bureij camps in central Gaza.

Israel may be using the threat to pressure Hamas into releasing more hostages taken in its Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war.

Elsewhere, an official at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City said it received the bodies of six people who were killed in the Zikim area of northern Gaza, as well as four people killed in shelling.

Another 11 malnutrition-related deaths occurred in Gaza over the past 24 hours, the territory’s Health Ministry said Saturday, with one child among them. That brings malnutrition-related deaths during the war to 251.

The United Nations is warning that levels of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza are at their highest since the war began. Palestinians are drinking contaminated water as diseases spread, while some Israeli leaders continue to talk openly about the mass relocation of people from Gaza.

A 20-year old Palestinian woman described as being in a “state of severe physical deterioration” died Friday after being transferred from Gaza to Italy for treatment, the hospital said Saturday.

The U.N. and partners say getting food and other aid into the territory of over 2 million people, and then on to distribution points, remains highly challenging with Israeli restrictions and pressure from crowds of hungry Palestinians.

The U.N. human rights office says at least 1,760 people were killed while seeking aid between May 27 and Wednesday. It says 766 were killed along routes of supply convoys and 994 in the vicinity of “non-U.N. militarized sites," a reference to the Israeli-backed and U.S.-supported Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which since May has been the primary distributor of aid in Gaza.

The U.S. State Department on Saturday said all visitor visas for people from Gaza are being stopped while a review is carried out of how “a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas” were issued in recent days.

The Hamas-led attack in 2023 killed around 1,200 people in Israel. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed 61,897 people in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry, which does not specify how many were fighters or civilians but says around half were women and children.

The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The U.N. and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own.

Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

People take part in a protest demanding the end of the war, the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

A demonstrator lies on the ground painted in red, symbolizing blood, during a protest demanding the end of the war, the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

People take part in a protest demanding the end of the war, the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government in Tel Aviv, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

A Palestinian man carries the body of his 7-year-old nephew, Alaa Al-Toum, who, according to the family, was killed in an Israeli army airstrike last night, during his funeral at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

A woman with her face painted in the colors of the Israeli flag takes part in a protest demanding the end of the war, the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government in Tel Aviv, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

A Palestinian girl struggles to get donated food at a community kitchen in Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Drake Maye made his first NFL start against the Houston Texans. The New England Patriots' second-year quarterback has come a long way in the 15 months since.

“That feels like, shoot, 10 years ago. It’s been a long journey,” Maye said. “Running out there with the first-snap jitters was pretty cool. It was fun to look back on. We’ll hopefully have a different outcome from (that) game.”

Maye and C.J. Stroud each threw three touchdown passes that day, but Maye also was intercepted twice and sacked four times in the Texans' 41-21 win.

Houston (13-5) and New England (15-3) meet again Sunday, this time with a trip to the AFC championship game at stake.

The Patriots are seeking their first appearance in the title game since the 2018 season, when they went on to win a sixth Super Bowl. The Texans have never made it that far, having lost in the divisional round in each of the past two seasons under third-year coach DeMeco Ryans.

“We’ve been in this position before. I think we’ve learned from those things. Now it’s time to go put it on tape,” Stroud said.

Both teams have exceeded expectations. The Patriots went from worst to first in the AFC East, while the Texans recovered from an 0-3 start and are riding a 10-game winning streak.

It's a matchup of strength against strength. The Patriots averaged an AFC-best 28.8 points per game, and the Texans have the NFL's top-ranked defense.

“I respect how hard they play,” New England coach Mike Vrabel said. “They’re not only talented, but they have a play demeanor that I can appreciate.”

Ryans believes much of the Patriots’ offensive success can be traced to Maye's growth under offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. He's impressed with how much freedom Maye — the league’s most accurate passer — has been given to run.

“I think he is doing a really good job of not making bad decisions with the football,” Ryans said. “Where he’s taking that next step is his ability to escape the pocket. I think it really doesn’t get talked about much, but his athletic ability, his ability to escape the pocket has been really clutch for them.”

The Texans' top receiver, Pro Bowler Nico Collins, will miss the game after sustaining his second concussion of the season in Monday night's wild-card win at Pittsburgh. Receiver Justin Watson (concussion) was also ruled out on Friday.

Christian Kirk had a big game against the Steelers and the Texans are hoping for a repeat performance. The eight-year veteran set a career high and franchise playoff record with 144 yards receiving.

Kirk had just 239 yards receiving in the regular season.

Houston will also look for rookies Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel to pitch in after the college teammates from Iowa State combined for 817 yards receiving and eight touchdowns in the regular season.

The Texans will also try to get tight end Dalton Schultz more involved after he had just 12 yards receiving on Monday night.

“I’m the most confident in everybody in there to get the job done,” Stroud said.

Stroud fumbled just twice in his 14 regular-season games but coughed up the ball five times against the Steelers, two of them leading to turnovers. He also threw an interception.

Stroud hopes to take better care of the ball, but he said mistakes happen against strong opponents in the playoffs and the key is not letting those miscues affect the next play.

“I watched almost all the wild-card games since we played the last game,” Stroud said. “Everybody made mistakes. Everybody had that moment where it was like, ‘Dang, we’re messing this up.’ Then the teams who find a way to fight through that and keep going were the teams that came out on top.”

Stroud also threw for 250 yards and a touchdown as he became the fourth quarterback in NFL history to start and win a playoff game in each of his first three seasons.

One thing Patriots rookie left tackle Will Campbell has learned this season is how to ignore naysayers.

Campbell was criticized on social media after yielding a team-high six pressures and two sacks — including a strip-sack — in the Patriots’ wild-card win over the Chargers. Now he'll face a stiffer challenge against Houston's fearsome defensive ends, All-Pro Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter.

“I don’t give a (expletive) what anyone says to be honest with you,” Campbell said. “It’s easy to type behind a Twitter account that is fake. I hold myself to the highest expectation of anybody. ... These are the best teams with the best defenses and the best offenses, the best players. They’re in the playoffs for a reason.”

Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs welcomes the chance to shine against the Texans, for whom he played one injury-shortened season.

Diggs was traded by Buffalo to Houston following the 2023 season. He played eight games for the Texans in 2024 before suffering a season-ending knee injury. He then signed with New England and led the team with 85 catches and 1,013 receiving yards.

“He’s very explosive after he catches the football,” Ryans said. “Another guy we’ve got to make sure we have eyes on.”

AP Sports Wrier Kristie Rieken in Houston contributed to this report.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel on the sidelines in the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans, left, stands on the sideline during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Houston Texans, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Justin Berl)

Houston Texans defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins (90) celebrates with cornerback Tremon Smith (11), defensive end Will Anderson Jr. (51) and linebacker E.J. Speed (45) after a touchdown during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Justin Berl)

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, left, avoids a tackle by Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Khalil Mack (52) in the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)