Israel intensifies its bombing after Gaza received aid, and attacked a mosque in the West Bank

The Israeli army announced on Saturday that it would intensify its strikes on the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), before a planned ground invasion, while United Nations agencies warned of a “catastrophic” humanitarian situation in the besieged Strip.

The first batch of aid entered the Palestinian enclave from Egypt on Saturday, but the 20 trucks allowed to cross were described as “a drop in the ocean” given the needs of 2.4 million residents.

The military has bombarded Gaza with sustained strikes in response to the deadly attack by Hamas on October 7, in which the militants killed at least 1,400 people, most of them civilians who were shot, maimed or burned to death, according to Israeli officials.

The bombing campaign has killed more than 4,300 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, and turned large swaths of densely populated territory into smoldering rubble.

More than 40 percent of all housing has been damaged or destroyed, according to the United Nations, citing local authorities, and Israel has halted deliveries of food, water, fuel and electricity.

Military spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari said that Israel will now intensify its bombing to reduce the risks to which its forces may be exposed when it begins a ground invasion.

He said, “From today we will increase the strikes and reduce the danger.”

He added, “We will increase the attacks. Therefore, I called on the residents of Gaza City to continue moving south for their safety.”

Israel warned more than a million residents of the northern part of Gaza of the need to move south for their safety, and the United Nations says that more than half of the population of the Strip are now internally displaced.

However, bombing continued in the southern parts of the Strip, with Hamas authorities reporting that nine people were killed in an airstrike in Khan Yunis overnight.

Hundreds of thousands of civilians are believed to remain in and around Gaza City in the north, unwilling or unable to leave.

Qatar is negotiating the release of the hostages

Israeli forces massed on the border with Gaza, and commanders visited units on the front lines on Saturday to mobilize troops.

“We will enter Gaza,” Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevy told one of the infantry brigades during a visit.

Halevy said: “Gaza is densely populated, and the enemy is preparing a lot of things there, but we are preparing for it as well.”

A ground invasion poses countless challenges to Israeli forces, who are likely to encounter Hamas booby traps and tunnels in a densely populated urban environment.

The safety of more than 200 hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 and held in Gaza is another factor that complicates matters.

The two American hostages were released on Friday evening, after mediation from Qatar, which said it was possible to release more hostages “very soon.”

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid Al-Ansari told the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag on Saturday, “We are on a path that will lead very soon to the release of hostages, especially civilians.”

He added, “We are currently working to reach an agreement under which all civilian hostages will be released initially.”

After negotiations and American pressure, 20 trucks loaded with food and medicine, but without fuel, crossed from Egypt into Gaza on Saturday.

The crossing was subsequently closed, and UN officials warned that more were needed.

Five UN agencies said in a statement that “Gaza was in a desperate humanitarian situation before the recent hostilities.”

“It is now catastrophic. The world must do more.”

“Something must be done”

At the peace summit organized by Egypt, UN Secretary-General António Guterres once again called for a humanitarian ceasefire to “end this horrific nightmare.”

However, in a sign of international divisions, the meeting was unable to agree on any joint invitation, with Western officials demanding a clear condemnation of Hamas, and Arab participants choosing to issue their own statement criticizing world leaders.

Inside Gaza, shell-shocked residents said they were unsure where to go or how to protect their families.

“Even in my worst nightmares, I never thought this was possible,” Rami Abu Wazna said as he stared at the devastation of the Zahraa neighborhood in central Gaza.

The scale of the bombing left essential systems unable to function, with the United Nations reporting that about 40 unidentified bodies were buried in a mass grave in Gaza City on Saturday because cold storage ran out before they could be identified.

Across the border in Israel’s Kibbutz Beri, where Hamas militants killed 10 percent of the population, preparations were underway for funerals on Sunday.

Romy Gold, 70, said residents were still struggling to understand the horror of their experience.

“Around us, entire families were shot, slaughtered or burned alive,” he told AFP.

Like many, he feels that a ground invasion of Gaza “can’t come fast enough. Something must be done.”

He added: “We need some kind of guarantee that this will not happen again.”

“You better leave now.”

The conflict has raised fears of a wider conflagration, as Israeli raids and settler attacks have killed dozens of Palestinians in the West Bank.

The Israeli military announced Sunday that it targeted “terrorist activists” with an air strike on a mosque in the West Bank city of Jenin, where it said a group of Hamas and Islamic Jihad activists were planning new attacks.

The Palestinian News Agency (Wafa), citing the local Red Crescent, said that one person was killed and three others were injured in the raid.

The exchange of fire also continued across Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, where the army exchanged blows with the Hezbollah militant group.

In southern Lebanon, Hezbollah said that four of its fighters were killed, in addition to a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement.

The Israeli authorities reported that three soldiers were injured, one of them in serious condition, in anti-tank fire fired by Hezbollah on the village of Baram, and two Thai farm workers were also injured.

Western leaders have warned Hezbollah against interfering in the conflict, but the group’s second-in-command said he was ready to intensify intervention.

Naeem Qassem said: “Let us be clear, as events develop, if something arises that requires greater intervention on our part, we will do so.”

Israel evacuated dozens of northern communities, and nearly 4,000 people in Lebanon fled border areas to the southern city of Tyre.

“All my children are young. If the end of the world comes, how will I get them all out at once?” said Mustafa Al-Sayed, in a classroom devoid of desks and filled with thin mattresses.

“So I thought I’d better leave now.”

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)