Israel launched an expanded ground operation on Saturday after knocking out communications and creating a near-blackout of information in the Gaza Strip with increased bombardment and artillery fire overnight.
Israel’s defense minister said that “the ground shook in Gaza” and that the war against the Palestinian territory’s Hamas rulers had entered a new stage. Gaza residents described the massive overnight bombardment from the sea and the air as the most intense of the 3-week-old Israel-Hamas war.
Other countries, United Nations officials and aid agencies described a dire situation on the ground in Gaza as ambulances left without cellphone or radio service resorted to chasing the sound of artillery fire to local people wounded.
The Palestinian death toll since the war started passed 7,700, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza. In the occupied West Bank, more than 110 Palestinians have been killed in violence and Israeli raids.
More than 1,400 people were slain in Israel during a surprise incursion by Hamas militants, including at least 310 soldiers, according to the Israeli government. At least 229 hostages were taken into Gaza, and four hostages were released earlier.
Currently:
1. Spider web of Hamas tunnels raises risks for Israeli ground offensive in Gaza Strip
2. Mass graves, unclaimed bodies and overcrowded cemeteries replace funeral rites
3. AP Photos: Scenes of sorrow and despair on both sides of Israel-Gaza border on week 3 of war
4. Jewish and Muslim chaplains navigate tensions on US college campuses
5. UN General Assembly calls for `humanitarian truce’ in Gaza leading to halt in Israel-Hamas fighting.
6. Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
Here’s what is happening in the latest Israel-Hamas war:
CAIRO — Oman’s Foreign Ministry says Israel’s siege and bombardment of Gaza amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The Omani ministry said in a statement that a wide-scale Israeli ground invasion of Gaza would have “serious catastrophic consequences on the region and the world, and the prospects of achieving peace and stability.”
Oman has a long record of serving as a key broker between Iran and the West when regional tensions flare.
The ministry called for the international community to immediately intervene to stop the Israel-Hamas war and to speed humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza.
HAMAS REPORTS FIRING ROCKETS AT ISRAELI CITY OF DIMONA
BEIRUT — A top Hamas official said Saturday that by shutting down most communications, Israel aims to prevent “the truth” about what is happening in the Gaza Strip from reaching the world.
Speaking to reporters in Beirut on Saturday, Ghazi Hamad alleged that Israel has made “baseless claims and lies” about Hamas militants hiding in tunnels under the Al Shifa hospital in Gaza “to justify the targeting of the hospital.”
He said that Israel has forced Palestinians to move from northern parts of Gaza into the southern parts with plans to try to push them to move to Egypt.
“We strongly reject that and say that our Palestinians will stay in their land,” Hamad said.
But he called on the international community to allow humanitarian aid to reach Gaza from Egypt, specifically medical equipment and fuel.
Meanwhile, Hamas’ military arm, Qassam Brigades, said Saturday afternoon it fired a barrage of rockets on Dimona, a southern Israeli city on the edge of the Negev Desert.
TURKEY PREPARING TO DECLARE ISRAEL A ‘WAR CRIMINAL,’ PRESIDENT SAYS
ISTANBUL — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a mass pro-Palestinian rally in Istanbul on Saturday that his country was making preparations to proclaim Israel a “war criminal” for its actions in Gaza.
In his address to hundreds of thousands of people who joined the rally, Erdogan also held Western countries responsible for the deaths in Gaza for failing to stop Israel’s attacks.
“Israel, we will proclaim you as a war criminal to the world,” Erdoga said. “We are making our preparations, and we will declare Israel to the world as a war criminal.”
Erdogan, whose government recently restored full diplomatic ties with Israel, has stepped up his criticism of the country. Earlier this week, he asserted that the Hamas militant group was not a terrorist organization but a liberation group fighting for its lands and people.
Participants at the rally waved Turkish and Palestinian flags, chanting “God is great.” Yusuf Islam, the musician formerly known as Cat Stevens, took part in the rally.
UN CHIEF SURPRISED BY ISRAEL’S ‘UNPRECEDENTED’ BOMBARDMENT OF GAZA
CAIRO — U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said he was surprised by Israel’s massive overnight airstrikes on Gaza amid a communication blackout across the besieged strip.
Writing Saturday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Guterres said he previously had felt encouraged by an apparent growing consensus on the need for a humanitarian cease-fire.
“Regrettably, instead I was surprised by an unprecedented escalation of bombardments, undermining humanitarian objectives. This situation must be reversed,” he said.
Guterres called President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt on Saturday, and the two discussed ongoing diplomatic efforts to deescalate the war between Israel and Hamas, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.
UN HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF: ISRAEL’S MILITARY ACTION TAKES PAIN IN GAZA TO ‘A NEW LEVEL’
CAIRO — The U.N. human rights chief said Israel’s overnight intense air and ground bombardment has taken the crisis in Gaza to “a new level of violence and pain.”
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk’s comments came in a statement Saturday as Gaza remained cut off from the outside world following a communication blackout.
He said the communication blackout has added to the misery and suffering of civilians in the Palestinian territory, with ambulances and civil defense teams no longer able to locate the wounded.
The humanitarian and human rights consequences will be devastating and long-lasting,” Turk said. “Given the manner in which military operations have been conducted until now, in the context of the 56-year-old occupation, I am raising alarm about the possibly catastrophic consequences of large-scale ground operations in Gaza and the potential for thousands more civilians to die.”
LONDON DEMONSTRATORS DEMAND A CEASE-FIRE IN GAZA
Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters have turned out on London’s streets for a second straight weekend to demand a cease-fire in Gaza.
Fireworks and red and green flares were lit as huge crowds massed Saturday on the banks of the River Thames.
Mohammed Ullah, an engineer, said he was surprised politicians and governments are “not stopping this genocide against the Gaza people.”
“Yes, it was a crime by Hamas. But at the same time, what the Israelis are doing, this is genocide. And these children should not be killed and murdered and they don’t deserve to be treated like this,” Ullah said.
Demonstrations also took place Saturday in Indonesia, Pakistan, France, Italy, Norway and Switzerland.
HEAD OF UN PALESTINIAN REFUGEE AGENCY EXPRESSES WORRIES FOR STAFF
JERUSALEM — The chief of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees wrote a public letter to his staff in Gaza, expressing “immense worry” for their safety amid a near-total communications blackout.
“I am constantly hoping that this hell on earth will soon come to an end and that you and your families are safe,” Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the UNRWA agency. “You are the face of humanity during one of its darkest hours.”
He said his staff was working around the clock to secure his entry into the Gaza Strip but that since Israel knocked out communications there he could only communicate with some of staff members by satellite phone.
ISRAEL REPORTS STRIKING HEZBOLLAH SITES IN LEBANON
JERUSALEM — Israel’s military says it is striking Hezbollah military infrastructure in Lebanon.
It said the strikes were ordered Saturday after “several anti-tank missile and mortar shell launches were identified from Lebanese territory toward Israel,” including Israeli military posts along the Israel-Lebanon border.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said a shell fired by Israeli troops hit the wall surrounding the headquarters of the U.N. peacekeeping force in the Lebanese coastal border town of Naqoura.
Andrea Tenenti, a spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL, confirmed that the shell only caused some damage and no injuries.
There has been concern that the Israel-Hamas war could expand into Lebanon and northern Israel if Hezbollah decides to join the conflict.
ISRAELI MILITARY AGAIN ADVISES GAZA RESIDENTS TO RELOCATE SOUTH
JERUSALEM — Israel’s military once again ordered Palestinians in northern Gaza and Gaza City to move south as its troops expand their ground offensive in the territory.
“For your immediate safety, we urge all residents of northern Gaza and Gaza City to relocate south immediately,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, a military spokesperson, said in a video message posted on X. “This is a temporary measure. Moving back to northern Gaza will be possible once the intense hostilities end.”
Israel’s military also dropped leaflets over northern Gaza telling residents that the area has become a warzone.
The Israeli military estimated that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in northern Gaza moved south since the beginning of the war. But tens of thousands returned amid relentless Israeli airstrikes in Gaza’s southern areas.
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION APPEALS FOR A HUMANITARIAN CEASE-FIRE
CAIRO — The World Health Organization has appealed to “the humanity in all those who have the power to do so to end the fighting now” in Gaza.
In a statement, the U.N. agency said health workers, patients and civilians have been subjected to a total communications and power blackout amid the intense bombardment and ground raids in Gaza.
“The WHO reiterates its calls for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire and reminds all parties to the conflict to take all precautions to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure,” the statement added.
WHO expressed “grave concerns” about reported bombardment near the Indonesia and Shifa hospitals in the northern half of Gaza.
GAZA HEALTH MINISTRY SAYS ISRAELI OFFENSIVE HAS KILLED 377 SINCE FRIDAY NIGHT
BEIRUT — The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said 377 people have been killed since Israel expanded its large ground offensive on Friday evening.
Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qedra told reporters Saturday that Israel has “totally paralyzed” the health network in Gaza by cutting off internet and cellular service.
“Israel has turned Gaza into pieces of fire,” al-Qedra said, adding that the bombardment is the most intense since Hamas’ deadly incursion in southern Israel three weeks ago.
Al-Qedra said the 377 people killed in the past day raises the death total in the Gaza to 7,703 people, including 3,195 children and 1,863 women.
He called on people in Gaza to donate blood, requested delivery of all blood types from the International committee of the Red Cross and urged the opening of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt to allow medical supplies and fuel to enter and the evacuation of seriously wounded people.
PALESTINIAN RED CRESCENT DESCRIBES AMBULANCES CHASING SOUND OF ARTILLERY IN GAZA
In Ramallah in the West Bank, the Palestinian health minister said the Gaza situation has grown dire since the bombing that cut off telecommunications to most people, including hospital teams.
“What is happening in Gaza is a genocide,” Mai al-Kailah said at a press conference .
Thousands of people are trapped under the rubble of bombed-out buildings, al-Kailah said, adding that disease is spreading rapidly among the 1.4 million displaced people forced to crowd into shelters with unsanitary conditions due to a lack of water.
With communication networks largely severed, residents had no way of calling ambulances as Israel intensified its bombardment. Palestinian Red Crescent spokesperson Nebal Farsakh said emergency teams were chasing the sounds of artillery barrages and airstrikes to search for people in need.
EGYPT’S LEADER CALLS FOR HUMANITARIAN AID AND END TO MILITARY ACTION
CAIRO — President Abdel Fattah el-Sisis of Egypt on Saturday urged the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, saying the number of trucks allowed into the besieged territory is far below the needs of Gaza’s population.
“The needs are massive,” he said in televised comments.
The Egyptian government was working to deescalate the conflict through talks with the warring parties, including discussions about releasing prisoners and hostages, he said without providing details.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry warned about “gave risks” of a wide-scale Israeli ground invasion, slamming Israel for not respecting the U.N. General Assembly’s resolution on Friday calling for a “humanitarian truce.”
HOSTAGE FAMILIES TO MEET WITH ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER
JERUSALEM — Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said he will meet families of hostages held in Gaza on Sunday.
The families warned Saturday they would begin protesting if Gallant and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not meet with them.
Hundreds of family members of hostages held in Gaza milled around a central square in downtown Tel Aviv Saturday opposite Israel’s Defense Ministry wearing shirts saying, “Bring them back,” and emblazoned with the faces of their relatives under the word “kidnapped.”
The military’s claim it is targeting tunnel infrastructure has prompted fear among the families that military leaders are being cavalier with the lives of the hostages, who are believed to be held inside the tunnels.
“The families feel like they’re they’re left behind and no one is really caring about them. No one is talking to them. No one is explaining what’s going on,” said Miki Haimovitz, a former lawmaker acting as a group spokesperson.
ISRAEL ANNOUNCES EXPANSION OF GROUND OPERATION INTO GAZA
Israel is expanding its ground operation in Gaza with infantry and armored vehicles backed by “massive” strikes from the air and sea, the Israeli military spokesperson said Saturday.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said “the forces are still on the ground and are continuing the war.”
Troops previously conducted brief nightly ground incursions before returning to Israel.
Earlier Saturday, the military released videos showing columns of armored vehicles moving slowly in open, sandy areas of Gaza, the first visual confirmation of ground troops. The military said warplanes bombed dozens of Hamas tunnels and underground bunkers.
Israel’s military also announced Saturday it had struck and killed a top Hamas naval operative, Ratib Abu Tzahiban, who it says orchestrated an attempted naval attack in Israel on Oct. 24. It was unclear if the military was referring to an episode when a group of Hamas divers were repelled after trying to infiltrate Israel on a beach north of Gaza.
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