At least 7,028 Palestinians have died in Gaza including 2,913 children and 1,709 women as a result of Israeli strikes, as per the health ministry administered by Hamas on Thursday.
The death toll from the conflict in Gaza is at its highest since Israel's unilateral withdrawal from the region in 2005.
Israel sent tanks, troops and armoured bulldozers into the Gaza Strip in a "targeted raid" overnight that destroyed multiple sites before withdrawing from the Hamas-run territory, the army said Thursday.
Black smoke billowed into the night sky after a blast in the grainy night-vision footage the military released hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared preparations for a ground war were underway.
In an urgent response to the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, European Union (EU) leaders have called for the establishment of "humanitarian corridors and pauses" to facilitate the delivery of crucial aid.
The plea came after a day of deliberations during a summit of the EU's 27 member nations held in Brussels.
The EU leaders expressed their deepest concerns regarding the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where the local population has been grappling with severe hardships. They stressed the importance of ensuring the rapid, safe, and unobstructed access of humanitarian assistance to those in need.
The leaders called for various measures, including the creation of humanitarian corridors and pauses to address the pressing humanitarian needs on the ground.
The EU leaders sat together for the first time since the October 7 incident.
The leaders' declaration at the summit reiterated their unequivocal condemnation of the Hamas attack and reaffirmed Israel's right to self-defence under international law and humanitarian principles. Additionally, the EU called on Hamas to release all hostages immediately and without any preconditions.
The EU leaders also vowed to work closely with partners in the region to protect civilians and facilitate access to essential resources such as food, water, medical care, fuel, and shelter. They stressed the importance of ensuring that humanitarian assistance reaches those in need and is not misused by terrorist organisations.
The targeting of civilians and "flagrant violations of international law" in Gaza, which has been subject to intense Israeli bombardment, were denounced on Thursday by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, and Morocco.
The foreign ministers of the Arab nations declared that disregarding the rights of the Palestinian people was not justified by Israel's right to self-defense following a catastrophic attack by Hamas militants on October 7.
After using tanks to launch an overnight ground operation inside Gaza that it claimed was targeting Hamas installations, the Israeli army claims to have killed the deputy chief of Hamas intelligence.
The Gaza Ministry of Health has issued a warning about a "health catastrophe" in the besieged territory and has charged Israel with purposefully allowing hospitals to close.
Following the deaths of family members in an air raid, Al Jazeera denounces Israel's "indiscriminate assault" on Gaza. Wael Dahdouh is the organisation's chief of bureau in Gaza.
Motaz Azaiza, a Palestinian journalist who gained popularity for covering the humanitarian crisis in Gaza on ground has asked for international protection after concerns regarding his safety.
"If something happened to me I will never forgive anyone who is able to stop this madness war and he didn’t. So please stop texting and calling me for interviews, there is no more to say or to clarify for the people than what I witnessed and captured", Azaiza wrote in an Instagram post.
"Yesterday, I saw the corespondent of Al-Jazeera when he lost his whole family and believe me or not I was going to delete everything here, I don’t want to lose more for just showing the world", he added.
According to the Telegram account of the al-Qassam Brigades, the military branch of Hamas, Abu Obeida, a spokesman for the group, stated on Thursday that the estimated number of Hamas-held detainees murdered in Gaza as a result of Israeli attacks is approximately fifty.
The spokesman withheld any other information.
On Thursday, the French attack ship Tonnerre set sail for the eastern Mediterranean in an effort to assist Gaza's hospitals, which are finding it difficult to handle the large number of casualties from Israeli airstrikes due to a shortage of fuel and medical supplies.
To enable Gazans obtain access to medical treatment and medications, President Emmanuel Macron announced that he was sending the helicopter carrier.
The 199-meter warship is supposed to provide humanitarian support, according to France's Defence Ministry, although it wasn't immediately apparent if this meant sending medical supplies to the Gaza Strip or attending to injured Palestinians on board.
"The conditions [for providing humanitarian support] have not yet been established. The idea is first to reach the area and then provide as much aid as possible," a Joint Defence Staff spokesperson said.
Leading humanitarian group Alkhidmat Foundation responded quickly to the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza by sending out the first consignment of supplies to help the victims.
With the arrival of 13 truckloads of necessities, including food items, medications, baby kits, delivery kits, hygiene kits, mosquito nets, and other necessities, the Alkhidmat Foundation has begun supporting individuals impacted in the area.
The Alkhidmat Foundation Pakistan's secretary general, Syed Waqas Jafri, declared that tremendous efforts are being made to meet the needs of the Gaza population immediately. He emphasised the significance of prompt and efficient aid while highlighting the extensive relief package being supplied in a statement to the media.
"In the face of the severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the Alkhidmat Foundation is taking action to alleviate the suffering of the people in the region. Our first shipment of relief goods is on its way, comprising essential items to address the immediate needs of the affected population," stated Syed Waqas Jafri.
According to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, "blood spilt is Muslims' blood," and as such, Western countries are breaking international law in Gaza.
He denounced as "barbaric" the Israeli attacks on Gaza and chastised Western nations for their unwavering backing of Israel instead of urging moderation.
Erdogan's comments highlight his worries over Gaza and his conviction that considering the scope of the conflict and its effects on Muslim populations, the international response is insufficient.
On Wednesday, Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf openly chastised British Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and others for their refusal to demand a ceasefire in order to facilitate the delivery of further aid to Gaza.
The foreign ministry of North Korea declared that Israel had openly committed a war crime "under the undisguised patronage of the United States" when it bombed a hospital in the Gaza Strip on October 17.
A ministry spokesperson also accused the US of "giving Israel a green light to massacre Palestinians without any worries" by arming and supporting Israel militarily, including by stationing aircraft carriers in the Middle East, in a statement reported by the state-run news agency KCNA.
"This shows that the U.S. is an accomplice who connived at and fostered Israel's genocide," the spokesman said. The foreign ministry statement did not give any evidence to support its comments.
On the 20th day of Israel's deadliest Gaza war yet, which has already killed thousands, the army said its forces had hit "numerous terrorist cells, infrastructure and anti-tank missile launch posts".
The operation in northern Gaza came in "preparation for the next stages of combat", it said, adding that the soldiers had "returned to Israeli territory".
The black-and-white video showed a column of armoured vehicles moving near Gaza's border fence. Other footage appeared to show an air strike and buildings being struck with munitions, sending debris flying high into the air.
Just hours earlier, Netanyahu had delivered a nationally televised address to Israelis still grieving and furious after Hamas's bloody October 7 attacks, telling them "we are in the midst of a campaign for our existence".
The shock attack, the worst in the country's history, saw throngs of Hamas gunmen pour from Gaza into Israel, killing more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 224 more, according to official tallies.
That scenario has further heightened international alarm as shock is growing about the scale of human suffering inside the besieged territory where Israel has cut off most water, food, fuel and other basic supplies.
In southern Gaza, a bereaved Palestinian woman, Umm Omar al-Khaldi, recounted to AFP how she witnessed her neighbours being killed in an Israeli strike that reduced the house to rubble, with many feared buried beneath.
"We saw them getting bombarded — the children got bombarded while their mother was hugging them," the woman said, desperately pleading for help from the outside world.
"Where are the Arabs, where is humanity?" she said. "Have mercy on us, have mercy on us."
The war's surging death toll is by far the highest since Israel unilaterally withdrew from the small coastal territory in 2005 — a period that has seen four previous Gaza wars.
Entire neighbourhoods have been razed, surgeons are operating without anaesthetic on some of the wounded, and ice cream trucks have become makeshift morgues.
In chaotic scenes, volunteer emergency crews and neighbours have clawed, sometimes with their bare hands, through broken concrete and sand to pull out civilian casualties.
All too often they recover only their corpses, which have piled up, wrapped in blood-stained white shrouds.
"Nowhere is safe in Gaza," said Lynne Hastings, UN humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories.
US President Joe Biden, a strong supporter of Israel, has joined the calls for it to "protect innocent civilians" and to follow the "laws of war" as it pursues Hamas targets.
Leaders of the 27-member European Union were on Thursday debating whether to call for a "humanitarian pause" in the war to deliver desperately needed aid.
French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking in Cairo on Wednesday, warned that "a massive intervention that would put civilian lives at risk would be an error".
And Jordan´s King Abdullah said anger at the suffering could "lead to an explosion" in the Middle East.
Netanyahu — amid the growing calls to temper the ferocious bombing campaign — said that Israel had been "raining down hellfire on Hamas" and killing "thousands of terrorists".
He said his war cabinet and the military would determine the timing of a "ground offensive" with the goal to "eliminate Hamas" and "bring our captives home".
But he stressed that "I will not detail when, how or how many" forces would take part.
Netanyahu also acknowledged for the first time that he would have to explain the security lapses exposed on October 7.
"The fault will be examined and everyone will have to give answers, including me," he said. "But all this will happen later."
Biden, also contemplating the future, stressed that "when this crisis is over, there has to be a vision of what comes next".
He reiterated that Washington supports a two-state solution with independent Israeli and Palestinian states.
"It means a concentrated effort for all the parties -- Israelis, Palestinians, regional partners, global leaders -- to put us on a path toward peace," said the US president.
For now, though, the raging war has sparked fears of a regional conflagration if it draws in more of Israel´s enemies such as Iran-backed Syria and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
There has also been a rise of attacks on Israel´s top ally the United States, which has a vast network of military bases across the Middle East.
About 2,500 American troops are stationed in Iraq and some 900 in Syria to help fight remnants of the Islamic State jihadist group.
The Pentagon said there were 10 attacks on US and allied forces in Iraq and three in Syria between October 17 and 24, involving a "mix of one-way attack drones and rockets."
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