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.

The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza since then has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials.

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).

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

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.

Asked in an interview with Fox News if Israel would “take control of all of Gaza,” Netanyahu replied: “We intend to, in order to assure our security, remove Hamas there, enable the population to be free of Gaza.” The Security Cabinet would still need to approve such a decision.

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.

An analysis compiled by USAID officials says they failed to find evidence that Hamas engaged in widespread diversion of assistance in Gaza, ABC News has learned.

Pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil kicked off the rally outside the New York Public Library near Bryant Park before those in attendance started marching across Manhattan. Protesters called for an end to the Israel-Hamas war and for the United States to stop sending aid to Israel. People from across the country attended.

President Donald Trump called on Hamas to surrender and release the remaining hostages, saying it would be the "fastest way" to end the suffering in Gaza.