Israel launches new offensive in Gaza, heavy IDF bombing

US President Donald Trump has "always considered the Middle East a very important region, the energy capital of the world and with great people." Trump himself said this in an interview with Fox News, stressing that "the entire region has never been treated fairly and was under strong persuasion by China, but now that is no longer happening."

More than 19,000 Palestinians have been displaced in Gaza since Thursday afternoon, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said. "Many with nothing but the clothes on their backs," the organization said in a post on X.

Israel's IDF has begun conducting "large-scale strikes and mobilizing troops in recent days to gain operational control in areas of Gaza. This is part of preparations to expand operations and achieve the objectives of the war, including the release of hostages and the dismantling of the terrorist organization Hamas," it said in a tweet. IDF troops "will continue to operate to protect Israeli civilians and achieve the objectives of the war," it added.

At least 100 people were killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza on Friday, according to Gaza rescue services. Civil Defense in the Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory said the attacks were aimed at civilian buildings in the northern Gaza Strip. Smoke bombs and tanks were also reported in Beit Lahia. Al Jazeera reports that rescue operations are ongoing. Several people were injured in the strikes.

U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said no time should be wasted on a U.S.-backed alternative to deliver aid to Gaza, saying the U.N. has a proven plan and 160,000 pallets of aid ready to enter the Palestinian enclave. "To those who propose an alternative way to distribute aid, let's not waste time. We already have a plan," he said in a statement quoted by Reuters and reported by international media.

Following the IDF strikes on two Houthi-controlled ports, Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened to assassinate Houthi leaders in a statement. "As we have said: If the Houthis continue to fire rockets at the State of Israel, they will suffer painful blows - and we will also target terrorist leaders, as we did with Deif and the Sinwars in Gaza, Nasrallah in Beirut and Haniyeh in Tehran. We will also hunt down and eliminate Abd al-Malik al-Houthi in Yemen," he said. In this statement, he referred to the two Sinwars, the former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, whose death was confirmed in mid-October, and his successor Mohammed Sinwar, whose death has not yet been confirmed. The IDF attempted to assassinate him on Tuesday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said these strikes are just the beginning. "There will be more. We are not willing to stand by and allow the Houthis to harm us. We will hit them much harder, including their leadership and all the infrastructure that allows them to harm us." He then mentioned Iran, which he said "provides them with support, guidance and approval."

The IDF says it has launched the first phases of its major offensive in the Gaza Strip, nicknamed “Gideon’s Chariots.” “Over the past few days, the IDF has launched large-scale attacks and mobilized forces to capture strategic areas in the Gaza Strip, as part of the opening moves of Operation Gideon’s Chariots and the expansion of the campaign into Gaza, to achieve all the objectives of the war in Gaza, including the release of hostages and the defeat of Hamas,” the military said in a statement on X. “IDF troops in the Southern Command will continue to operate to protect Israeli citizens and achieve the objectives of the war,” the military added. The Gideon’s Chariots offensive would see the IDF “capture” Gaza and hold the territory; move the Palestinian civilian population to the southern Strip; attack Hamas; and prevent the terror group from taking control of humanitarian aid supplies.

The Trump administration is working on a plan to permanently resettle up to 1 million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Libya, NBCNews has learned. The plan is being considered so seriously that the administration has discussed it with Libya’s top officials, two people with direct knowledge of the plans and a former U.S. official said. In exchange for resettling the Palestinians, the administration could potentially release billions of dollars in funds to Libya that the U.S. froze more than a decade ago, the three people said. No final agreement has been reached, and Israel has been kept informed of the administration’s discussions, the sources said.

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said he was "shocked" by comments made earlier this week by the world body's humanitarian chief about the situation in Gaza, calling them "deeply irresponsible." Tom Fletcher told the UN Security Council on Tuesday that Israel was "deliberately and brazenly imposing inhumane conditions on civilians in the occupied Palestinian territory." "To those who have been killed and to those whose voices have been silenced: what more evidence do you need now?" asked Fletcher, the undersecretary for humanitarian affairs. In a letter to Fletcher, made public by the Israeli mission, a furious Danon said he was "deeply shocked and disturbed" by the speech. "You had the audacity, as a senior United Nations official, to stand before the Security Council and invoke the charge of genocide without evidence, mandate or restraint," Danon wrote. “It was a completely inappropriate and deeply irresponsible statement that shattered any notion of neutrality.” “Weaponizing the word ‘genocide’ against Israel is not just a distortion, it is the desecration and subversion of a term with unique force and weight,” Danon writes, accusing those who use the term of seeking to “demonize” their targets.