ISRAEL’s prime minister this afternoon vowed to “exterminate the bloody monsters” who unleashed hell on his country. Israel’s military says it has Gaza surrounded, while Hamas is reportedly blocking terrified residents from escaping the bomb-blitzed enclave. As the ground offensive looms ever-nearer, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israeli troops “are ready to act at any moment, to exterminate the …

Israel plans to send 10,000 troops to capture Gaza City and “destroy” the Strip’s leadership, the New York Times reports, citing Israeli military officers who have spoken publicly. The report says the offensive would be the largest since 2006’s Second Lebanon War and will see the IDF attempt to hold on to parts of Gaza, at least temporarily. A Hamas official …

Sheikh Jassim is understood to have raised his offer for Man Utd in June but it was not satisfactory for the Glazers despite being far more than the club’s $3.3bn valuation on the New York Stock Exchange; Sir Jim Ratcliffe now close to agreeing a deal to buy 25 per cent of the club Qatari banking tycoon Sheikh Jassim bin …