Israel said it sent troops on a limited raid into Gaza for the second night running, as preparations for a more extensive ground offensive continue.
Israeli forces backed by fighter jets and drones carried out a second ground raid into Gaza in as many days and struck targets on the outskirts of Gaza City, the military said on Friday, as it prepares for a widely expected ground invasion of the Hamas-ruled territory.
US warplanes meanwhile struck targets in eastern Syria that the Pentagon said were linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard after a string of attacks on US forces by Iran-backed fighters, adding to the already high regional tensions fuelled by the three-week-old Gaza war.
The Palestinian death toll has soared past 7,000 as Israel has carried out waves of devastating air strikes in response to a bloody Hamas incursion into southern Israel on October 7.
The Health Ministry in Gaza, which tracks the toll, released a detailed list of names and ID numbers on Thursday. The toll includes more than 2,900 minors and more than 1,500 women.
The overall number of deaths far exceeds the combined toll of all four previous wars between Israel and Hamas, estimated at around 4,000.
More than 1,400 people in Israel, mostly civilians, were slain during the initial Hamas attack, according to the Israeli government. Hamas is holding at least 224 captives inside Gaza, including men, women, children and older adults.
The air strikes have flattened entire neighbourhoods, causing a level of death and destruction unseen in the last four wars between Israel and Hamas.
‘Viet Cong times 10’: underground warfare awaits Israeli troops in Gaza
Over a million people have fled their homes, with many heeding Israeli orders to evacuate to the south, despite continuing Israeli strikes across the sealed-off territory.
The humanitarian crisis sparked by the war and the Israeli siege has sparked protests across the region, and more demonstrations were expected later Friday after weekly Muslim prayers.
The military said ground forces raided inside Gaza, striking dozens of militant targets over the past 24 hours.
