Latest Israel-Hamas news as Israel offensive looms for Gaza and water runs out

Israeli forces are poised to launch a major land, sea and air offensive in Gaza in a bid to “dismantle” the militant group Hamas.

The looming offensive threatens to worsen the situation on the ground in Gaza, where officials say more than 2,329 people have been killed over the past week in Israeli strikes – triggered by an unprecedented Hamas incursion into Israel, which saw more than 1,300 Israelis have been killed, the vast majority of them civilians, and more than 100 taken hostage.

The humanitarian situation on the ground in Gaza is dire, with water, food and fuel supplies running short after Israel imposed an effective siege on the tiny region, home to more than 2 million Palestinians.

Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Qatar on Saturday. Hamas said they “agreed to continue co-operation” to achieve the group’s “goals”.