At least 34 Palestinians, including several aid seekers, were killed by Israel in the last 24 hours as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to expand military operations in Gaza to occupy the Palestinian territory completely.
Responding to Israel's plan to accelerate the genocidal war, one Palestinian, Kamel Abu Nahel, told Associated Press, "I have no intention to leave my home, I will die here."
Israel's genocidal war on Gaza has so far killed at least 61,258 Palestinians, more than half of them being women and children. Another 197, including 96 children, have died due to starvation, amid Israel's continuous blockade of humanitarian assistance into the territory.
Countries and rights organisations around the world have slammed Israel's new plan and called for an immediate ceasefire.
Calling the plan a "dangerous escalation," United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday said that it would further worsen the conditions for ordinary Palestinians.
"The Secretary-General is gravely alarmed by the decision of the Israeli Government to 'take control of Gaza City'. This decision marks a dangerous escalation and risks deepening the already catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians," Guterres's spokesperson said in a statement.
The UN Security Council is set to meet in a rare weekend session on Saturday to discuss Israel's plan to occupy Gaza.
The meeting at 1900 GMT had been requested by several members of the Security Council, a member of the Council told AFP.
Hamas slammed the plan as a "new war crime," warning the operation would cost Israel "dearly."
"The Zionist cabinet's approval of plans to occupy Gaza City and evacuate its residents constitutes a new war crime that the occupation army intends to commit against the city," the group said in a statement. "We warn the criminal occupation that this criminal adventure will cost it dearly and will not be an easy journey."
Germany said it will halt the export of military equipment to Israel that could be used in the Gaza Strip.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed "deep concern" at the suffering of Gaza's civilians.
It was "increasingly unclear", he said, how the latest Israeli military plan would help achieve the aims of disarming Hamas and freeing the remaining Israeli hostages.
"Under these circumstances, the German government will not authorise any exports of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice," he said in a statement.
China expressed "serious concerns" over Israel's plan, urging it to "immediately cease its dangerous actions."
"Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people and is an inseparable part of Palestinian territory," a foreign ministry spokesperson told AFP in a message.
"The correct way to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and to secure the release of hostages is an immediate ceasefire," they added.
"A complete resolution to the Gaza conflict hinges on a ceasefire; only then can a path to de-escalation be paved and regional security ensured," the spokesperson said.
Israel already controls and has largely destroyed around 75% of the Gaza Strip, with most of its 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.