Netanyahu said the order approving the outlet’s closure will go into effect immediately on Sunday, nearly seven months since the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas began. The Israeli government is using a law designed to allow the prime minister to take action against a foreign media channel that “is harming the state.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that his government voted unanimously to shut down the local offices of Qatar-owned broadcaster Al Jazeera.

The latest cease-fire negotiations are set against the tense backdrop of a planned Israeli offensive in Rafah and worsening humanitarian conditions across Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that his government has voted unanimously to shut down the local offices of Qatar-owned broadcaster Al Jazeera, escalating Israel’s long-running feud with the channel at a time when cease-fire negotiations with Hamas — mediated by Qatar — are gaining steam.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet voted unanimously on Sunday to close Qatari television network Al Jazeera's operations in Israel, according to a government statement, which did not stipulate when the decision might take effect.

The government is banning Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel over its Gaza war coverage. Israel’s Foreign Press Association called it a “dark day for democracy.”

JERUSALEM/DOHA (Reuters) -Israeli authorities raided a Jerusalem hotel room used by Al Jazeera as its office after the government decided to shut down the Qatari-owned TV station's local operations on Sunday,

The Palestinian militia Hamas has condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for closing the Qatar-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera's offices in Jerusalem.

Al Jazeera condemned the move as "criminal". Foreign journalists are banned from entering Gaza and Al Jazeera staff there have been some of the only reporters on the ground. For years, Israeli officials have accused the network of anti-Israeli bias.