Calls for de-escalation or a humanitarian ceasefire have so far gone unheeded. Since Friday night, Israel has intensified its offensive against the Gaza Strip, hoping to defeat Hamas. In a sign that hostilities may not slow down just yet, the IDF has once again asked the Gazan population to leave the north of the enclave and head for the south.
According to the latest death toll provided by Hamas - difficult to confirm - more than 8,000 people, many of them civilians, have been killed in the territory since the war began on October 7, when terrorists of the Palestinian Islamist group carried out a deadly offensive in Israel, killing more than 1,400 people.
The "Second Stage of the War"
At a press conference on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that "the war in the Gaza Strip will be long and difficult and we are ready for it," adding that his army "will destroy the enemy on land and underground."
Read alsoIsrael-Hamas: the intensification of the war in Gaza increases the fear of conflagration
Now is underway "the second stage of the war, the objective of which is clear: to destroy Hamas' military capabilities and leadership; bring the hostages home," he said, after meeting with the families of Hamas captives, who Israel estimates number at 230.
Call for immediate displacement
On Saturday, the Israeli military renewed its call for residents of the northern Gaza City to "leave immediately" for the south, saying it now considers the city and its area a "battlefield." "Your window to act is closing," warned the IDF spokesman, who has been asking the population to descend under the Wadi Gaza area since October 15.
The Israeli military pledged that "humanitarian efforts in Gaza, led by Egypt and the United States, will be increased" on Sunday, with access to "water, food and medicine."
Read also"No place is safe": in the Gaza Strip, the bombing also affects the south
Despite calls to evacuate, strikes also continue to hit the south, where hundreds of thousands of civilians are massed near the closed Egyptian border. Thousands of Palestinians have returned to the north due to a lack of shelter and aid in the south, according to the UN.
Communication being re-established
The intensified bombardment of Gaza has coincided with a shutdown of communications and the internet, further complicating the task of humanitarians. But as of Sunday morning, the network is being restored, network watchdog Netblocks announced.
⚠️ Confirmed: Real-time network data show that internet connectivity is being restored in the #Gaza Strip; service was disrupted on Friday amid heavy bombardment by Israel, leaving most residents cut off from the outside world at a critical moment 📈 pic.twitter.com/I7hBa9L9I9
— NetBlocks (@netblocks) October 29, 2023
Paltel, the main telephone company operating in the Gaza Strip, and its mobile subsidiary Jawwal also announced on Facebook "the gradual return of communications services (landline, cellular and Internet) that had been cut off in the Gaza Strip due to the aggression on Friday evening."
An AFP staff member in Gaza City confirmed that he had access to the internet and mobile network, and had managed to reach people in the south of the territory.
Looting of aid centres
"Thousands of people have entered several UNRWA warehouses and distribution centers in the central and southern Gaza Strip," the UN agency said in a statement on Sunday. "This is a worrying sign that civil order is beginning to crumble after three weeks of war and a strict siege on Gaza."
The Hostage Issue
Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, speaking Saturday night for the first time since the Oct. 7 massacre, said he was ready "to immediately conclude an exchange to have all prisoners in the prisons of the Zionist enemy released for all hostages."
On Saturday, the families of hostages held by the Palestinian Islamist group voiced their displeasure at the "absolute uncertainty" they face about their fate, especially during the intensive bombardment.
Tensions in the West Bank
Three Palestinians were killed Sunday morning in clashes with the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Authority's Health Ministry. The IDF did not confirm this information.
The day before, a 40-year-old Palestinian man who was picking olives was killed by an Israeli settler in a village near a settlement in the Nablus area, according to the Health Ministry and the mayor of the locality.