Israel pounded Hamas-ruled Gaza on Sunday in an escalating air and ground campaign as the UN warned civil order was ‘starting to break down’ in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Israel pounded Hamas-ruled Gaza on Sunday in an escalating air and ground campaign as the UN warned civil order was “starting to break down” in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu steeled the nation for a “long and difficult war” ahead as the Red Cross voiced shock at the “intolerable” human suffering inside Gaza.
Despite calls for a humanitarian ceasefire and outrage across the Muslim world, Israel has intensified the war triggered by Hamas’s unprecedented attack more than three weeks ago.
Hamas militants stormed across the Gaza border on October 7 in the deadliest attack in Israel’s history, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 230 others, according to Israeli officials.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says the unrelenting retaliatory Israeli bombardment has killed at least 8,005 people, including 3,324 minors.
Israel’s army said “stage two” of the war started with ground incursions since late Friday, while stopping short of calling it an all-out invasion.
Israel strikes near Gaza hospital after accusing Hamas of using it as a base
On Sunday the military said it had struck another 450 Hamas targets within the past 24 hours, and that it was increasing its ground forces in Gaza.
In a late-night televised address on Saturday, Netanyahu announced a “second stage of the war whose goals are clear: destroying the military and leadership capabilities of Hamas, and bringing the hostages back home”.
He vowed to “eradicate” Hamas “for the sake of our existence”.
Panic and fear have surged inside Gaza, where more than half of its 2.4 million residents are displaced, according to the UN, and thousands of buildings have been destroyed.
UN chief Antonio Guterres said the situation was “growing more desperate by the hour” as casualties increase and essential supplies of food, water, medicine and shelter dwindle.
