GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The world’s leading authority on food crises said Friday the Gaza Strip’s largest city is gripped by famine, and that it is likely to spread across the territory without a ceasefire and an end to restrictions on humanitarian aid.

Israel is preparing to launch intensive attacks on Gaza City, Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Friday, after operational plans for the city's takeover were approved. "The gates of hell will soon open on the murderers and rapists of Hamas in Gaza - until they agree to Israel's conditions for ending the war,