123 Killed as Israel Pounds Gaza City Ahead of Takeover

24-hour death toll worst in a week; eight more people die of starvation in enclave

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JERUSALEM - Israel's military pounded Gaza City on Aug. 13 prior to a planned takeover, with another 123 people killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, while militant group Hamas held further talks with Egyptian mediators.

The 24-hour death toll was the worst in a week and added to the massive fatalities from the nearly two-year war that has shattered the enclave housing more than two million Palestinians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated an idea — also floated enthusiastically by U.S. President Donald Trump — that Palestinians should simply leave.

"They're not being pushed out. They'll be allowed to exit," he told Israeli TV channel i24News. "All those who are concerned for the Palestinians and say they want to help the Palestinians should open their gates and stop lecturing us."

Arabs and many world leaders are aghast at the idea of displacing the Gaza population, which Palestinians say would be like another "Nakba" (catastrophe), when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced out during a 1948 war.