World leaders have criticised Israel’s decision to seize control of Gaza City, warning the move risks exacerbating the already catastrophic humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

The plans will spark fresh condemnation from countries which have expressed anger over the situation in Gaza and urged Israel to end the war, which started as a response to the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the Israeli political-security cabinet’s decision to seize Gaza City was wrong and urged the Israeli government to reconsider.

“This action will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict or to help secure the release of the hostages. It will only bring more bloodshed.” “The Israeli Government’s decision to further escalate its offensive in Gaza is wrong, and we urge it to reconsider immediately,” Starmer said.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said his country will not authorise any exports of military equipment that could be used in Gaza “until further notice.”

Merz emphasised that Israel “has the right to defend itself against Hamas’ terror” and said that the release of Israeli hostages and “purposeful” negotiations toward a cease-fire in the 22-month conflict “are our top priority.”

He said Hamas must not have a role in the future of Gaza.

Hamas described Israel’s decision as a “war crime”, adding that the Israeli government “does not care about the fate of its hostages,” news agency Reuters reported.

China expressed “serious concerns” and urged it to “immediately cease its dangerous actions”.

“Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people and is an inseparable part of Palestinian territory,” the foreign ministry told news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) in a message.

“The correct way to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and to secure the release of hostages is an immediate ceasefire,” they added.

“A complete resolution to the Gaza conflict hinges on a ceasefire; only then can a path to de-escalation be paved and regional security ensured,” the spokesperson said.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said: “The Israeli government’s plan for a complete military takeover of the occupied Gaza Strip must be immediately halted.”

“It runs contrary to the ruling of the International Court of Justice that Israel must bring its occupation to an end as soon as possible, to the realisation of the agreed two-state solution and to the right of Palestinians to self-determination,” he added.

Turkey condemned Israel’s plan to take control of Gaza City calling on the international community and United Nations Security Council to act to prevent the plan’s implementation.

The ministry said Israel must immediately halt its war plans, agree a ceasefire in Gaza, and start negotiations for a two-state solution, saying each step by Israel’s government to continue what Turkey called Israel’s genocide and occupation of Palestinian lands dealt a heavy blow to global security.

Israel’s plan to intensify operations in Gaza is “a wrong move”, Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp said.

“The plan of the Netanyahu government to intensify Israeli operations in Gaza is a wrong move. The (Gaza) humanitarian situation is catastrophic and demands immediate improvement. This decision in no way contributes to this and will also not help to get the hostages home,” Veldkamp said on X.

Finland’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen echoed the same concerns, stating she was “extremely worried” about the worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza.

“We hope for an immediate Gaza ceasefire and the immediate release of Israeli hostages,” she said.

In Australia, Foreign Minister Penny Wong called on Israel to back down, warning that “permanent forced displacement is a violation of international law.”

The Palestine Red Crescent Society has accused Israel forces of targeting Palestinian civilians waiting to receive aid in Gaza and killing one of its staff members.

“Today, our colleague Ashraf Suleiman Eid Yousef (44), a staff member in the administrative services department at the Sarayah field hospital in Gaza City, was killed after Israeli forces targeted a group of civilians while they were waiting to receive aid in the Kisufim area, east of the central governorate,” the organisation wrote on X.

US President Donald Trump commented earlier this week that the decision was “really up to Israel” and blamed Hamas for stalling negotiations. "They didn’t really want to make a deal," he said.

The Israeli security cabinet approved the controversial plan on early Friday, marking a new escalation in the country’s nearly two-year-long war against Hamas.

In a meeting of Israel’s security cabinet, ministers approved proposals for the "takeover of Gaza City", which is likely to be the first phase for the Israeli military to assume full control of Gaza, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says it is his intention.

It is not clear when the operations, which could take months, will start, as the military will have to call up thousands of reservists, exhausted after serving multiple times, and allow for the forced evacuation of residents from an area where around 800,000 Palestinians live, according to the BBC.

An Israeli airstrike on eastern Lebanon on Friday killed several people, including a senior member of a Palestinian group and his bodyguard as they were on their way to Syria, reported AP.

Israel's war in Gaza has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, which is run by Hamas. The Hamas attacks on Israel killed about 1,200 people, while 251 were taken to Gaza as hostages.

The Israeli military says nearly 900 of its soldiers have died since the start of the war.