As the devastating conflict that has turned into an all-out war between Israeli forces and the militant group Hamas enters its eighth day, the death toll on both sides has risen to over 3,000, and the number of Palestinians killed continues to rise.
As of Friday, at least 1,900 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in Israeli attacks, including 614 children and 370 women, according to Gaza’s health ministry. In the past 24 hours alone, the Gaza Health Ministry reported 324 Palestinians killed and 1,000 injured in Israeli air strikes. Over 1,300 buildings in Gaza have also been reduced to rubble.
Israel announced a ground operation on Friday evening. Israeli forces carried out local raids inside the Gaza Strip, with the main aim to rescue hostages and gather evidence to locate individuals taken by Hamas, the Israel Defense Forces said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “eradicate” Hamas. He said Israel’s counter-offensive in Gaza was “just the beginning”.
On Friday, an Israeli shell struck a gathering of international journalists in southern Lebanon, killing Reuters cameraman Issam Abdallah and injuring six others.
On Saturday, Israeli air strikes targeted a convoy of civilians, killing 70 people, mostly women and children. The convoy was trying to reach the south of Gaza City in response to Israel’s evacuation warning ahead of a possible ground invasion.
Earlier on Friday, Israel gave some 1.1 million people in northern Gaza 24 hours to evacuate.
Meanwhile, local mosques and Hamas officials encouraged Gazans to stay in their homes, urging them to “hold on to your homes, hold on to your land” and ignore Israel’s warnings.
The United Nations humanitarian office estimates that tens of thousands of Gazans have fled their homes and headed south.
Evacuation of vulnerable hospital patients from northern Gaza is now practically impossible, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO noted that attempting to move seriously ill people in Gaza, including those on life support, would amount to a ‘death sentence’.
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera has released a video documenting the moment an ambulance convoy was hit during an Israeli air strike in Gaza. Officials have accused Israel of “direct and systematic attacks” on ambulance units.
Gaza remains under a total blockade, severely restricting Palestinian access to essential services and aid. Israel has demanded the return of hostages as a precondition for lifting the blockade, further deepening the ongoing crisis.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has issued a dire warning, describing the situation in Gaza as having reached “a dangerous new low” and stressing the need for immediate humanitarian access to deliver fuel, food and water to those in need. Guterres insisted that “even wars have rules” during a press briefing as the UN Security Council held a closed-door meeting to discuss the ongoing crisis.
Violence has also spread to the West Bank, where the Palestinian Health Ministry reported at least 16 deaths during the day on Friday. A total of 53 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank in confrontations with Israeli forces or Israeli settlers since Hamas launched its offensive last Saturday and the subsequent Israeli counter-attack on 7 October.
