Israel starts next stage of ‘long war’ as Gaza deaths top 8,000

Israel’s army said “stage two” of the war started with ground incursions since late Friday, while stopping short of calling it an all-out invasion.

Israel strikes near Gaza hospital after accusing Hamas of using it as a base

On Sunday the military said it had struck another 450 Hamas targets within the past 24 hours, and that it was increasing its ground forces in Gaza.

In a late-night televised address on Saturday, Netanyahu announced a “second stage of the war whose goals are clear: destroying the military and leadership capabilities of Hamas, and bringing the hostages back home”.

He vowed to “eradicate” Hamas “for the sake of our existence”.

Panic and fear have surged inside Gaza, where more than half of its 2.4 million residents are displaced, according to the UN, and thousands of buildings have been destroyed.

UN chief Antonio Guterres said the situation was “growing more desperate by the hour” as casualties increase and essential supplies of food, water, medicine and shelter dwindle.

He reiterated appeals for a ceasefire to end the “nightmare”.

“This is a worrying sign that civil order is starting to break down,” it said.

Communications went down for days after Israel cut internet lines, although connectivity was gradually returning on Sunday.

New UN vote on ceasefire will not change an iota in the Gaza war

Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, voiced shock at the “intolerable level of human suffering” in Gaza and urged all sides to de-escalate.

“This is a catastrophic failing that the world must not tolerate,” she said.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has said Israel was attacking “above the ground and below”, alluding to Hamas’s sprawling tunnel network.

Israeli fighter jets again dropped leaflets over Gaza City on Saturday, warning residents that the northern area was now a “battlefield” and they should “evacuate immediately”.

Hamas authorities reported Sunday that a “large number” of people were killed overnight in strikes on two refugee camps in northern Gaza.

Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari reiterated that Palestinian civilians should go south “to a safer area where they can receive water, food and medicine”.

After 84 aid trucks entered the territory in recent days, he vowed humanitarian efforts to Gaza would expand.

But Ibrahim Shandoughli a 53-year-old from Jabaliya in northern Gaza, said he and his family went nowhere.

“Where do you want us to evacuate to? All the areas are dangerous.”

Netanyahu in his address also acknowledged the intelligence failure that exposed Israel to the October 7 attack that stunned and infuriated the nation.

“There was a terrible failure here, and it will be thoroughly examined,” he said.

While Israel has mourned its dead, sympathy has swelled for the families whose loved ones were abducted by Hamas and are at heightened risk as the war intensifies in Gaza.

Israel says its war can both destroy Hamas and rescue hostages in Gaza

“Bring them home,” shouted relatives at a rally on Saturday.

Hamas has released four of them but this week said “almost 50” had been killed by Israeli air strikes, a claim that was impossible to verify.

Netanyahu on Saturday assured hostage relatives that Israel would “exhaust every option to bring them home”.

“We demanded that no action be taken that endangers the fate of our family members, and any step considered should take into account the safety of our loved ones,” said Meirav Leshem Gonen, the mother of hostage Romi Gonen.

Hamas’ armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said it was prepared to release the hostages if Israel freed the Palestinian prisoners it was holding.

Hamas’ leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, said the group was ready for an “immediate” exchange.

The ground operations have heightened fears that Israel’s other enemies – the Iran-allied “axis of resistance” forces in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen – enter the conflict.

Israel’s ally the United States has warned Israel’s enemies to stay out and reinforced its military presence in the region.

Skirmishes have intensified on the Israeli-Lebanese border with Iran-backed Hamas ally Hezbollah, raising fears of a new front.

Shelling in south Lebanon injured a UN peacekeeper on Saturday, the mission’s spokesman said, hours after reporting a hit at its headquarters.

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi on Sunday warned on X, formerly Twitter, that Israel’s “crimes have crossed the red lines, which may force everyone to take action”.

Violence has also risen sharply in the occupied West Bank since the October 7 attacks, with more than 110 Palestinians killed, according to the territory’s health ministry.

Additional reporting by Associated Press