Israel-Hamas war: Israeli troops encircle Gaza City: IDF

Israel's military says its troops have pushed further into northern Gaza and "completed the encirclement of Gaza City."

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Daniel Hagari added that the army had destroyed Hamas military installations and infrastructure as it advanced on Gaza City from several directions.

The city has become the focus of Israel’s campaign to stamp out the Hamas militant Islamist group, which rules Gaza.

It's estimated that hundreds of thousands of civilians remain in the north of the besieged territory. Israel has repeatedly claimed that Hamas forces and military assets are embedded in civilian infrastructure.

Hagari stressed that Israel's war was solely against the militants.

"I want to make something very clear," he said. "Israel is at war with Hamas. Israel is not at war with the civilians in Gaza."

Hamas carried out terror attacks against Israeli communities on October 7, killing 1,400 people and taking more than 230 hostages.

Israel has since carried out airstrikes and expanded its ground operations in Gaza.

The Hamas-run Health Ministry said the death toll in the enclave had passed 9,000.

The UN has warned of a looming humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and  called for a cease-fire to allow aid to reach civilians.

Israel, Germany, the EU, US and others, have designated Hamas a terrorist organization.

Israel to send back workers from Gaza

The Israeli government says it plans to cut ties with Gaza and send Gazans working in Israel back to the Palestinian territory.

"Israel is severing all contact with Gaza. There will be no more Palestinian workers from Gaza," the Israeli security cabinet announced in a statement.

"Those workers from Gaza who were in Israel on the day of the outbreak of the war will be returned to Gaza," it added.

It was not immediately clear how many people would be affected by the move. Before the Israel-Hamas conflict started, Israel had issued work permits to around 18,500 people from Gaza, according to the Israeli body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs.

Hamas, the militant Islamist group that rules Gaza, carried out an unprecedented terror attack on Israel on October 7. In response, Israel has launched airstrikes and a ground offensive in the coastal enclave.

Israel's government said the security cabinet had also decided to deduct funds from the Palestinian Authority that were designated for the Gaza Strip.

Although Hamas seized control of Gaza from the Palestinian Authority in 2007, the PA has continued to pay tens of thousands of civil servants in the territory.

The PA is estimated to spend some 30% of its budget in Gaza, where it also provides funds for medicine and social assistance programs.

Blinken to urge humanitarian 'pauses' during Israel talks

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says his talks with Israeli leaders on Friday will include "concrete steps that can and should be taken minimize harm" to civilians in Gaza.

"When I see a Palestinian child … pulled from the rubble of a collapsed building, that hits me in the gut as much as seeing a child in Israel or anywhere else," Blinken said.

"This is something that we have an obligation to respond to, and we will."

It is Blinken's second trip to the Middle East since the Hamas terror attacks on Israel on October 7.

Israel has responded with a relentless bombing campaign and ground offensive in Hamas-ruled Gaza, which international aid organizations say is unleashing a humanitarian crisis.

The US has promised its full support to Israel, while at the same time calling for humanitarian "pauses" to let through aid and allow evacuations.

"What we're trying to do is explore the idea of as many pauses as might be necessary to continue to get aid out and to continue to work to get people out safely, including hostages," national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.

The calls for pauses, however, differ from that of an overall cease-fire, which the US continues to oppose, saying it would only allow Hamas time to strengthen and regroup.

On Saturday, Blinken is expected to meet with officials in Jordan. The Jordanian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Thursday that Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi will "stress" to Blinken the "need to move immediately to stop the Israeli war on Gaza."