The Latest: Israeli strikes pummel Gaza City as a new ground offensive gets underway

Palestinian residents reported heavy strikes across Gaza City on Tuesday and Israel’s defense minister said “Gaza is burning” as a new Israeli ground offensive targeted the city.

Israel had been pounding the city with airstrikes in the lead-up to the operation. At least 69 Palestinians have been killed in the latest strikes on Gaza City, according to hospitals in the territory.

“It was a heavy night,” said Radwan Hayder, a Gaza City resident sheltering near the hospital.

Here's the latest:

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the alternative, one state under which Palestinians would be deprived of their land and rights, would be “absolutely intolerable.”

“Is this possible in the 21st Century? Is this acceptable in the 21st Century?,” Guterres asked during a news conference Tuesday.

The Palestinians hope at least 10 countries will recognize a state of Palestine at the upcoming U.N. General Assembly meeting.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes a two-state solution and is boycotting the meeting, along with close ally the United States.

“Without a two-state solution,” Guterres warned, “there will be no peace in the Middle East, and extremism will expand everywhere in the world with the consequences that I consider extremely, extremely negative.”

He says the international community must “make sure the two-state solution prevails.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that President Donald Trump has invited him to visit on Sept. 29, after the Israeli leader addresses the United Nations General Assembly.

It will be Netanyahu’s fourth visit to the White House since Trump assumed office in January.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a U.N. news conference: “It looks like Israel is determined to go up to the end.”

Following the recent Israeli airstrikes targeting Hamas’ leaders in Qatar, he said, “it doesn’t look that Israel is interested in serious negotiations for ceasefire and the release of hostages.”

The U.N. chief pointed to the systematic destruction of Gaza City, “dramatic obstacles” to aid distribution, and the “massive killing of civilians” more than he has seen anywhere since he became secretary-general in 2017.

He said Israel is violating international law with its campaign in Gaza, but a determination of genocide can only be made by the U.N.’s highest court.

The secretary-general said he would be “delighted” to meet the Israeli prime minister during the U.N. General Assembly next week. If a meeting happens, Guterres said, he will inform the International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu last November, alleging crimes against humanity.

Families of the hostages still being held in Gaza gathered outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence overnight, begging him to stop the offensive.

Israel believes around 20 of the hostages are alive. Hamas has said it will only free the remaining captives in return for Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the situation in Gaza is intolerable and it “doesn’t look like Israel is interested in a serious negotiation for a ceasefire.”

A commission of the United Nations' Human Rights Council has determined Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

The Israeli military said it is working to intercept the projectile, which was fired after Israel carried out airstrikes on the rebel-held port city of Hodeida in Yemen.

The Houthis regularly fire drones and missiles at Israel, in what they say is solidarity with the Palestinians. The vast majority are intercepted or land in open areas without causing casualties or damage. Israel has carried out waves of retaliatory strikes on Yemen.

This comes as Israel’s ground offensive targeting Gaza City begins.

“I hear Hamas is trying to use the old human shield deal,” U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday as he prepared to leave for the United Kingdom. “And if they do that, they’re going to be in big trouble.”

On Monday, Trump posted his Truth Social platform that he had read a news report indicating Hamas would use the captives as “human shields.”

Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels said they activated air defenses after Israel launched strikes Tuesday.

“Our air defenses are currently confronting the Israeli aircrafts that are launching an aggression against our country,” Houthi military spokesperson Yayha Saree posted on X.

Israel’s military urged residents of the port city of Hodeida earlier Tuesday to evacuate ahead of the strike.

Qatar said Tuesday its ruling emir spoke to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio about defense cooperation and the “consequences of the Israeli attack on Doha. ”

Majed al-Ansari, a spokesman for Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, provided details of the talks between Rubio and Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

They also spoke about mediation efforts to reach a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, he added. However, al-Ansari harshly criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the attack on Qatar's capital city that killed six people.

“He knew the road to peace a long time ago. He just decided not to go through it, and he decided to mediate in bad faith,” al-Ansari said. “And therefore, the questions about the fate of their mediation should be asked of he who is bombing the mediators and those who he is talking with on the negotiating table.”

Military spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee urged residents in the city to evacuate ahead of the attack, which he said will occur in the coming hours. Hodeida is controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis, who have launched missiles and drones toward Israel and targeted ships in the Red Sea for over 22 months of the war in Gaza.

“For your safety, we urge all those present at the Port of Hodeida and the ships anchored there to evacuate the area immediately,” Adraee wrote on social media.

“Military intervention will lead to more destruction, more death and more displacements,” said Anouar El Anouni, a European Commission spokesperson. “This will also aggravate the already catastrophic humanitarian situation and also endangers the lives of hostages.”

On Wednesday, the European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas will present to national representatives proposals to ratchet up pressure on Israel over its military campaign in Gaza.

Last week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she will seek approval from the 27 EU member nations for new sanctions against far-right Israeli extremists and a partial suspension of a trade agreement with Israel. She also said she will freeze millions of euros given by the EU’s executive branch to Israel, which would not require the approval of all member countries.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper wrote on X that the assault on Gaza City “will only bring more bloodshed, kill more innocent civilians & endanger the remaining hostages.”

She added: “We need an immediate ceasefire, all hostages released, unrestricted humanitarian aid and a path to lasting peace.”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered his thanks Tuesday to Qatar for its work on mediating the Israel-Hamas war, his office said, after an Israeli strike targeted Hamas leaders in the capital, Doha.

A statement from his office did not directly acknowledge Israel’s strike last week that killed six people.

Instead, it said Rubio acknowledged the strong ties between Qatar and the U.S.

Rubio “thanked Qatar for its efforts to end the war in Gaza and bring all hostages home,” the statement said. Rubio “reiterated America’s strong support for Qatar’s security and sovereignty and discussed our shared commitment to a safer, more stable region.”

Qatar offered no immediate comment on the meeting, which came as Israel launched a new ground offensive targeting Gaza City.

Several nations have denounced the Israeli strikes last week on Doha that killed six people, including five Hamas members who were in Qatar's capital for negotiations toward a ceasefire in Gaza.

Qatar’s minister of state for international cooperation, Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser Al Misnad, told delegates in Geneva on Tuesday that the attack “constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law by targeting a purely civilian area.”

She says “targeting the mediating state is targeting the principle of negotiation itself.”

The council’s president said Israel’s delegation wasn’t in the room as it heard statements from the countries concerned.

Israeli Ambassador Daniel Meron told reporters before the debate that the council has been “serving as a platform for anti-Israel propaganda while ignoring the brutal realities on the ground and the atrocities committed by Hamas.”

Long lines of traffic stretched down the coastal road on Tuesday as tens of thousands of Palestinians attempted to leave northern Gaza after Israel said it had begun its ground operation in Gaza City.

Vehicles laden with belongings, with mattresses strapped to every available surface, crawled along the road while others made their way on foot down the coast.

The U.N. estimates some 220,000 Palestinians have fled northern Gaza, including more than 70,000 in the past few days, ahead of the operation.

Approximately 1 million Palestinians were in the Gaza City region before the most recent operation.

Marco Rubio has boarded his plane to leave Qatar.

The U.S. secretary of state said goodbye to Qatari and U.S. officials on the tarmac before climbing the stairs to his airplane.

He turned back, waved, gave a thumbs up and put his hand over his heart before boarding the plane.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi described Israel as “an enemy” in a fiery speech at the Qatar summit Monday.

It was the first time an Egyptian leader used the term since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1979, said Diaa Rashwan, head of Egypt's State Information Service.

“Egypt is being threatened,” Rashwan told the state-run Extra News television late Monday.

El-Sissi’s “enemy” comment played prominently across Egyptian newspapers’ front pages on Tuesday and while Cairo has taken no steps to change its status with Israel, the Egyptian government likely is trying to signal just how seriously it takes Israel’s recent actions.

Marco Rubio met Tuesday with Qatar’s ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Rubio shook hands with both Sheikh Tamim and Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, before the meeting.

A team of independent experts commissioned by the United Nations’ Human Rights Council on Tuesday urged the international community to take steps to end the genocide and punish those responsible.

A report documenting the three-member team's findings released Tuesday is the latest accusation of genocide against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government by rights advocates as Israel continues its campaign against Hamas in Gaza.

Israel rejected what it called a “distorted and false” report.

While neither the commission nor the 47-nation council can take action against any country, the findings could be used by prosecutors at the International Criminal Court or the U.N.’s International Court of Justice.

The team was commissioned by the Human Rights Council, the U.N.’s top human rights body, but it does not speak for the United Nations.

The Israeli military said Tuesday that the operation “to destroy Hamas’ military infrastructure” has begun and warned Gaza City residents to move south.

Israel’s Arabic language spokesperson Avichay Adraee announced the expansion of Israel’s operation on X, after a night of heavy strikes in northern Gaza that killed at least 20 people.

Israel has been warning the famine-stricken Gaza City residents to evacuate for the past month ahead of the operation but many have said they cannot leave due to overcrowding and high transportation costs.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Qatar on Tuesday less than a week after Israel attacked Hamas leaders in the capital city, Doha.

Rubio’s plane landed Tuesday morning in Doha, where he was expected to meet with the country’s ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Qatar hosted a summit Monday that saw Arab and Islamic countries denounce Israel over the attack last week that killed six people.

But leaders offered different views about what to do, and the group agreed to take only minimal action.

Spain summoned Israel’s acting ambassador in Madrid Tuesday for the second time in less than a week over comments made the day before by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar toward Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

On Monday, Sánchez called for Israel to be banned from international sporting events over its actions in Gaza.

Saar responded on X by calling the Spanish leader an “antisemite and a liar.”

Spain has been an outspoken critic of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.

On Sunday, thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters in Madrid disrupted the final leg of a top cycling event because an Israeli team was taking part, which caused the race’s finale to be cancelled.

Shifa Hospital in Gaza City received the bodies of 12 people who were killed in a strike that hit multiple houses in the western part of the city, said Dr. Rami Mhanna, managing director of the hospital.

He told The Associated Press that more than 90 injured also arrived at the facility in the past six hours.

He said first responders reported that many casualties are still under the rubble in multiple areas, and that the death toll is likely to increase.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has acknowledged the start of a new Israeli operation in Gaza City and stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire in the Palestinian territory.

“We think we have a very short window of time in which a deal can happen,” Rubio told journalists as he left Israel for Qatar. “We don’t have months anymore, and we probably have days and maybe a few weeks to go.”

Rubio said a deal would need to include the release of hostages and the demilitarization and disarmament of Hamas.

Rubio plans to visit Qatar on Tuesday after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a day earlier. The two presented a unified front in the face of international anger over Israel’s airstrikes on Hamas leaders in Qatar and its bombardment of Gaza City.

The Trump administration appears keen to ease tensions between its two close allies following Israel’s strike in Doha last week.

Palestinian activists carry posters that read "no for the starvation of Gaza," during a hunger strike sit-in in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Displaced Palestinians flee northern Gaza along the coastal road toward the south, as Israel announced an expanded operation in Gaza City, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Smoke rises in the background following Israeli bombardment as displaced Palestinians flee northern Gaza, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, after Israel's military says its expanded operation in Gaza City has begun and warns residents to leave. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Displaced Palestinians flee northern Gaza along the coastal road toward the south, after Israel's military says its expanded operation in Gaza City has begun and warns residents to leave, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Displaced Palestinians flee northern Gaza along the coastal road toward the south, after Israel's military says its expanded operation in Gaza City has begun and warns residents to leave, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Displaced Palestinians flee northern Gaza by foot and in vehicles, carrying their belongings along the coastal road toward southern Gaza, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Smoke rises to the sky following an Israeli military strike in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

An Israeli army flare drifts over buildings destroyed during the Israeli ground and air operations in the northern Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

NUUK, Greenland (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump has turned the Arctic island of Greenland into a geopolitical hotspot with his demands to own it and suggestions that the U.S. could take it by force.

The island is a semiautonomous region of Denmark, and Denmark's foreign minister said Wednesday after a meeting at the White House that a “ fundamental disagreement ” remains with Trump over the island.

The crisis is dominating the lives of Greenlanders and "people are not sleeping, children are afraid, and it just fills everything these days. And we can’t really understand it,” Naaja Nathanielsen, a Greenlandic minister said at a meeting with lawmakers in Britain’s Parliament this week.

Here's a look at what Greenlanders have been saying:

Trump has dismissed Denmark’s defenses in Greenland, suggesting it’s “two dog sleds.”

By saying that, Trump is “undermining us as a people,” Mari Laursen told AP.

Laursen said she used to work on a fishing trawler but is now studying law. She approached AP to say she thought previous examples of cooperation between Greenlanders and Americans are “often overlooked when Trump talks about dog sleds.”

She said during World War II, Greenlandic hunters on their dog sleds worked in conjunction with the U.S. military to detect Nazi German forces on the island.

“The Arctic climate and environment is so different from maybe what they (Americans) are used to with the warships and helicopters and tanks. A dog sled is more efficient. It can go where no warship and helicopter can go,” Laursen said.

Trump has repeatedly claimed Russian and Chinese ships are swarming the seas around Greenland. Plenty of Greenlanders who spoke to AP dismissed that claim.

“I think he (Trump) should mind his own business,” said Lars Vintner, a heating engineer.

“What's he going to do with Greenland? He speaks of Russians and Chinese and everything in Greenlandic waters or in our country. We are only 57,000 people. The only Chinese I see is when I go to the fast food market. And every summer we go sailing and we go hunting and I never saw Russian or Chinese ships here in Greenland,” he said.

Down at Nuuk's small harbor, Gerth Josefsen spoke to AP as he attached small fish as bait to his lines. He said, “I don't see them (the ships)” and said he had only seen “a Russian fishing boat ten years ago.”

Maya Martinsen, 21, a shop worker, told AP she doesn't believe Trump wants Greenland to enhance America's security.

“I know it’s not national security. I think it’s for the oils and minerals that we have that are untouched,” she said, suggesting the Americans are treating her home like a “business trade.”

She said she thought it was good that American, Greenlandic and Danish officials met in the White House Wednesday and said she believes that “the Danish and Greenlandic people are mostly on the same side,” despite some Greenlanders wanting independence.

“It is nerve-wrecking, that the Americans aren’t changing their mind,” she said, adding that she welcomed the news that Denmark and its allies would be sending troops to Greenland because “it’s important that the people we work closest with, that they send support.”

Tuuta Mikaelsen, a 22-year-old student, told AP that she hopes the U.S. got the message from Danish and Greenlandic officials to “back off.”

She said she didn't want to join the United States because in Greenland “there are laws and stuff, and health insurance .. .we can go to the doctors and nurses ... we don’t have to pay anything,” she said adding "I don’t want the U.S. to take that away from us.”

In Greenland's parliament, Juno Berthelsen, MP for the Naleraq opposition party that campaigns for independence in the Greenlandic parliament told AP that he has done multiple media interviews every day for the last two weeks.

When asked by AP what he would say to Trump and Vice President JD Vance if he had the chance, Berthelsen said:

“I would tell them, of course, that — as we’ve seen — a lot of Republicans as well as Democrats are not in favor of having such an aggressive rhetoric and talk about military intervention, invasion. So we would tell them to move beyond that and continue this diplomatic dialogue and making sure that the Greenlandic people are the ones who are at the very center of this conversation.”

“It is our country,” he said. “Greenland belongs to the Greenlandic people.”

Kwiyeon Ha and Evgeniy Maloletka contributed to this report.

FILE - A woman pushes a stroller with her children in Nuuk, Greenland, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)

Military vessel HDMS Knud Rasmussen of the Royal Danish Navy patrols near Nuuk, Greenland, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Juno Berthelsen, MP for the Naleraq opposition party that campaigns for independence in the Greenlandic parliament poses for photo at his office in Nuuk, Greenland, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Fisherman Gerth Josefsen prepares fishing lines at the harbour of Nuuk, Greenland, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

A woman walks on a street past a Greenlandic national flag in Nuuk, Greenland, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)