Israel continued pounding the Gaza Strip on Monday in advance of an expected ground incursion as tensions remained high on the northern border with Lebanon, with more exchanges of fire between Hizbullah and Israeli units.
Gaza residents described the Israeli attacks on Sunday night and Monday as the heaviest so far of the war, which enters its 11th day on Tuesday.
The bombardment is in response to the attack by Hamas, the militant group that governs the Gaza Strip, just over a week ago that killed 1,400 people in Israel. At least 2,750 Palestinians have been killed in the subsequent Israeli bombardment of Gaza. Officials in Gaza claimed that more than 1,000 people are still missing, trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings.
Most residents of Gaza city and the northern Gaza Strip have fled southwards after Israel warned people to leave the area, which is expected to see fierce clashes when the incursion begins.
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Hamas is still urging residents to stay.
Israel defence forces spokesperson rear admiral Daniel Hagari reiterated a call for Gaza’s residents to move south.
“There is no ceasefire. We will continue with the next stages of the war under conditions that are convenient for us, with our troops ready and equipped to the maximum. That is our only consideration.”
Military sources estimate the campaign could last a few months.
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Admiral Hagari also confirmed that the number of Israelis abducted to Gaza during the Hamas attack has risen to 199, creating huge difficulties for Israeli military planners in advance of the ground offensive.
It is believed that efforts are under way for a deal involving the release of at least some of the hostages in return for Palestinian militants held in Israeli prisons.
The United States and Qatar are reportedly involved in the mediation efforts and the contacts could explain the delay in the start of Israel’s ground operation. At a meeting with representatives of families of the hostages, prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu said freeing the hostages is one of Israel’s war aims.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) warned on Monday that there are “24 hours of water, electricity and fuel left” in the Gaza Strip before “a real catastrophe” sets in.
WHO regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Ahmed Al-Mandhari, said Gaza must be allowed to receive convoys of aid, which are stuck at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
He said that if assistance does not arrive, doctors will have to “prepare death certificates for their patients”.
The West Bank has also seen a surge in violence, with nightly raids by Israeli forces to arrest suspected Hamas fugitives. The Palestinian health ministry reported that 58 people have been killed in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war.
Israel on Monday ordered the evacuation of 28 communities within a 2km range of the border with Lebanon following more exchanges of fire between Hizbullah and the Israeli army. The 10,000 residents are being sent to hotels in the Red Sea resort of Eilat and the Dead Sea.
US president Joe Biden is expected to visit Israel in the coming days. US secretary of state Antony Blinken had to interrupt a meeting in Tel Aviv with members of Israel’s war cabinet on Monday night to run to a bomb shelter to take cover from a rocket barrage from Gaza.
Earlier in the day, Israeli politicians also ran to the bomb shelter during the opening of the Knesset parliament winter session in Jerusalem.
