Israel-Hamas war: In yet another incident of massive attack by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), more than 30 Palestinians were killed in an airstrike that hit a residential building in Gaza According to a report by Palestinian media, the airstrike hit the building in the al-Shuhada area of the Jabalia refugee camp on Monday. More than 4,600 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. That includes the disputed toll from a hospital explosion.
Israel's military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said the country had increased airstrikes across Gaza to hit targets that would reduce the risk to troops in the next stage of the war. Hamas said it fought with Israeli forces near Khan Younis in southern Gaza and destroyed a tank and two bulldozers.
Late Sunday, Hagari announced that a soldier was killed, and three others wounded, during a raid inside Gaza carried out as part of efforts to rescue more than 200 hostages abducted in the October 7 attack.
He said the soldiers were hit by an anti-tank missile. It was not immediately known if the soldiers were inside Gaza when they were shot.
Israeli warplanes struck targets across Gaza
Besides, Israeli warplanes struck targets across Gaza, two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by militants, as the 2-week-old war with Hamas threatened to spiral Sunday into a broader conflict.
Israel has traded fire with Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group since the war began, and tensions are soaring in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces have battled militants in refugee camps and carried out two airstrikes in recent days.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told troops in northern Israel that if Hezbollah launches a war, "it will make the mistake of its life. We will cripple it with a force it cannot even imagine and the consequences for it and the Lebanese state will be devastating.”
For days, Israel has seemed to be on the verge of launching a ground offensive in Gaza following Hamas' deadly October 7 rampage, with tanks and troops massed at the border.
20 trucks entered Gaza in the first aid shipment
On Saturday, 20 trucks entered Gaza in the first aid shipment into the territory since Israel imposed a complete siege two weeks ago. Egypt's state-run media reported 17 more trucks crossing Sunday, but the United Nations said none had crossed. “Until now, there is no convoy,” said Juliette Touma, spokeswoman for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
Israel repeated its calls for people to leave northern Gaza, including by dropping leaflets from the air. It estimated 700,000 already fled. But hundreds of thousands remain. That would raise the risk of mass civilian casualties in any ground offensive. Israeli military officials say Hamas' infrastructure and underground tunnel system are concentrated in Gaza City, in the north, and that the next stage of the offensive will include unprecedented force there. Israel says it wants to crush Hamas. Officials have also spoken of carving out a buffer zone to keep Palestinians from approaching the border, though they have given no details.
Israel's military has said it is striking Hamas fighters and installations, and does not target civilians. Palestinian militants have fired over 7,000 rockets at Israel, according to the military, and Hamas says it targeted Tel Aviv early Sunday. More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed — mostly civilians slain during the initial Hamas attack. At least 212 people were captured and dragged back to Gaza. Two Americans were released on Friday, hours before the first shipment of humanitarian aid.
(With inputs from the agency)
Also Read: Israel airstrikes Syria's Damascus and Aleppo airports, one killed and runway damaged
