Israeli forces waged ground operations against Hamas in Gaza on Sunday in what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the second phase of a three-week-old war aimed at crushing the Palestinian militant group.
“This is the second stage of the war whose goals are clear – to destroy Hamas’ governing and military capabilities and to bring the hostages home,” Netanyahu told reporters.Israel has tightened its blockade and bombarded Gaza for three weeks since the Islamist group Hamas’ devastating October 7 attack. At least 1,400 Israelis were killed in the deadliest day of the nation’s 75-year history, Israeli authorities said.
With many buildings reduced to rubble and shelter hard to find, Gazans are short of food, water, fuel and medicines. Their plight got worse from Friday night when phone and internet services were cut – followed by heavy bombing through the night. The communications outage persisted into Sunday. But Palestinians say nowhere is safe, with bombs also smashing homes in the south of the densely populated territory.