JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel said Friday it will intensify its 22-month war with Hamas by taking over Gaza City, drawing a dismissal from the militant group and renewed international calls to end the conflict, while stirring fears for Palestinian civilians and Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted that Israel's goal was not to occupy Gaza, but to "free Gaza."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to order a full military occupation of the Gaza Strip to force Hamas to free the hostages, according to local reports.

As Israel expands operations in the enclave, Gazans increasingly voice defiance against Hamas, with dissenters risking their lives to demand freedom from the group’s grip.

Hamas' meetings with Egyptian officials will focus on ways to stop the war, deliver aid, and "end the suffering of our people in Gaza," Hamas official Taher al-Nono said in a statement.

President Trump said Monday that Hamas cannot be allowed to stay in the Gaza Strip due to the horrors of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack — as he weighs the risks of Israel’s looming invasion

The Revere lawmaker is the highest-ranking congressional Democrat to use that historically significant term to refer to the worsening conflict.

Hamas terror organization's endgame is rooted in long-term strategy, using civilians as shields and tools of international pressure while pursuing Israel’s destruction.

Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. each provided their own take on the conflict, as well as issuing a joint communique on Sunday (Aug. 10).

The United Nations warns that levels of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza are at their highest level since the war began.