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 has warned “the gates of hell will open” in Gaza if Hamas refuses to release all of the remaining hostages. The country angrily dismissed a report that officially declared a

"Soon the gates of hell will open upon the heads of Hamas murderers and rapists in Gaza—until they agree to Israel's conditions for ending the war, foremost among them the release of all hostages and the dismantling of their weapons," Katz said in his post, which was originally in Hebrew.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday he will give final approval for the takeover of Gaza City while also restarting negotiations with Hamas aimed at returning all the remaining hostages and ending the war on Israel's terms.

Gaza City and surrounding areas are officially suffering from famine, and it will likely spread, a global hunger monitor determined on Friday, an assessment that will escalate pressure on Israel to allow more aid into the Palestinian territory.

The world's leading body on hunger declared famine in the Gaza Governorate on Friday as the Israeli military vowed to destroy the area if Hamas doesn't agree to its terms.

A key mediator on Tuesday stressed the urgency of brokering a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip after Hamas showed a “positive response” to a proposal from Arab countries, but Israel has yet to weigh in as its military prepares an offensive in some of the territory's most populated areas.