Gaza (TIP): Israel pounded northern Gaza and said it was “extending” its ground operation late on October 27 amid UN warnings of an “avalanche of human suffering” in the battered Palestinian territory. “Following the series of strikes of the last days, the ground forces are extending the ground operation tonight,” military spokesman Daniel Hagari told reporters.
His announcement followed two straight nights of tank incursions into Gaza.
Earlier, the military said it had increased its strikes “in a very significant way”, as AFP live footage captured intense bombardment of northern Gaza.
The armed wing of the Islamist group Hamas said it responded with “salvos” of rockets aimed at Israel. Hamas said all internet connections and communications across the territory had been cut, and accused Israel of taking the measure “to perpetrate massacres with bloody retaliatory strikes from the air, land and sea.” Israel has heavily bombarded Gaza since Hamas gunmen stormed across the border on October 7, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping over 220 others, according to Israeli officials.
The Hamas-run health ministry said Friday Israeli strikes on Gaza had now killed 7,326 people, mainly civilians and many of them children. UN chief Antonio Guterres warned that Gaza faces “an unprecedented avalanche of human suffering” because of the lack of food, water and power during Israeli bombing in response to the October 7 attack.
The UN human rights office also raised the alarm over “war crimes” being committed as the Israel-Hamas conflict raged into its 21st day.
Concern is growing about regional fallout from the conflict, with the United States warning Iran against escalation while striking facilities in Syria it says were used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and others.
The war, now in its 21st day, is the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Thursday that more than 7,000 Palestinians have been killed so far — more than three times the number killed in the six-week-long Gaza war in 2014.
The Israeli army said it will extend “ground operations” in the Gaza Strip on Friday night after significantly intensifying its air strikes on the Palestinian territory.
“Following the series of strikes of the last days, the ground forces are extending the ground operation tonight,” military spokesman Daniel Hagari told reporters. The announcement followed two straight nights of tank incursions into Gaza. (AP)