Hamas issues a stern warning to Israel after announcing its expansion of its offensive and the seizure of Gaza City: "It means sacrificing the hostages."

The Islamist group Hamas warned Israel that expanding its offensive in Gaza means "sacrificing" the hostages still held there and called its plan to occupy Gaza City and evacuate its residents "a new war crime."

In a statement released on its social media following the Israeli security cabinet's decision early this morning to expand its military offensive in the Strip by taking over the northern city of one million inhabitants, Hamas asserts that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government "do not care about the fate of their hostages."

"The Zionist cabinet's approval of plans to occupy Gaza City and evacuate its inhabitants constitutes a new war crime that the occupying army wishes to commit against the city and its nearly one million inhabitants," the Palestinian Islamist movement responded.

"This criminal adventure will be costly and will not be an easy journey" for the Israeli army, the statement released on Telegram added.

It's worth remembering that Netanyahu's decision to occupy Gaza City, in the north of the enclave, was approved this Friday (Thursday night in Colombia) by the Jewish government's Security Cabinet.

More than 60,000 Palestinians—including thousands of children—have died during the Israeli offensive against Gaza, which followed Hamas's attacks on October 7, 2023, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.

This criminal adventure will cost dearly and will not be an easy journey.

Likewise, for the first time, Israeli civil society organizations—B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI)—have joined international NGOs such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch in denouncing that Israel is committing genocide or "genocidal acts" in Gaza.

The decision to expand its offensive in Gaza has sparked a wave of international condemnation. Among the messages of condemnation is the reaction of the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, who "firmly" condemned the Israeli government's decision, describing it as a step that "would only cause more destruction and suffering."

On social media, the minister criticized these plans to "escalate the military occupation" of Gaza, stressing the urgency of a permanent ceasefire, the massive influx of humanitarian aid, and the release of all hostages still held by Hamas.

Definitive peace in the region, Albares adds, will only be achieved by "establishing a two-state solution," which includes a "realistic and viable" State of Palestine.

Also on social media, Sumar and Podemos (left) called on the international community to stop "looking the other way" and to respond decisively to stop the "genocidal State of Israel," after the country's Security Cabinet approved the occupation of the entire city of Gaza.

Sumar has called for "sanctions and an embargo" and for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be tried for his crimes, saying that if these actions are not stopped now, "we will regret it for the rest of our lives."

Podemos, for its part, has pointed out to Pedro Sánchez's government and the international community that it is "urgent" to halt the occupation of Gaza through a "total arms embargo and the severance of commercial and diplomatic relations with the genocidal state of Israel."

With information from AFP and EFE