DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces have strategically targeted and isolated northern Gaza from the rest of the besieged territory, subjecting it to relentless airstrikes overnight. This sets the stage for an imminent push into the densely populated Gaza City, signaling a potentially bloodier phase in the ongoing month-long war.
The Palestinian death toll surpassed 10,000, declared the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza on Monday. The ministry does not differentiate between fighters and civilians. In contrast, around 1,400 Israelis have lost their lives, primarily innocent civilians who fell victim to Hamas’ incursion on October 7 that sparked the conflict.
These figures mark a somber milestone, making it the deadliest round of Israeli-Palestinian violence since Israel’s establishment 75 years ago. Unfortunately, there is no end in sight as Israel remains determined to oust Hamas from power and dismantle its military capabilities.
As the war shifts to close-quarter urban combat, casualties are expected to increase. Israeli media reports indicate that troops are poised to enter Gaza City soon. Palestinian militants, who have spent years preparing for such an eventuality, are likely to engage in street-by-street warfare, ambushing from an extensive network of tunnels.
Late on Sunday, the Israeli military announced the successful severance of northern Gaza from the south, describing it as a “significant stage” in the war. By Monday, the military revealed that it had carried out airstrikes on 450 targets and that ground troops had taken control of a Hamas compound. A one-way corridor has been established for residents to flee south, offering an escape route for the hundreds of thousands remaining in Gaza City and other northern areas.
Since the war began, approximately 1.5 million Palestinians, which is roughly 70% of Gaza’s population, have been displaced from their homes. The scarcity of food, medicine, fuel, and water has reached critical levels. UN-run schools converted into shelters are overwhelmed, leaving many to sleep on the streets.
During the overnight period, mobile phone and internet services experienced a widespread blackout. This was the third territory-wide outage since the start of the war. However, these services were gradually restored on Monday, as confirmed by the Palestinian telecom company Paltel and internet access advocacy group NetBlocks.org. Humanitarian aid workers argue that these outages further challenge civilians’ ability to seek safety and request medical assistance.
Israel has so far dismissed US proposals for a temporary halt in fighting to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid and the release of some of the estimated 240 hostages taken by Hamas during their raid. Additionally, Israel has disregarded appeals for a broader ceasefire from concerned Arab nations, including Jordan and Egypt, both of which had made peace agreements with Israel decades ago.
After days of intense diplomatic efforts in the Middle East, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded his regional tour on Monday. He acknowledged that attempts to secure a humanitarian pause, negotiate hostage releases, and formulate a post-Hamas plan for Gaza were still a “work in progress” without specifying any tangible achievements.
The war has ignited tensions beyond the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as Israel and Lebanon’s militant group, Hezbollah, engaged in a cross-border exchange of fire. In another sign of mounting unrest, a Palestinian man stabbed and wounded two members of Israel’s paramilitary Border Police in East Jerusalem before being fatally shot. Israel captured East Jerusalem, along with Gaza and the West Bank, during the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians aspire to establish a future state encompassing all three territories. However, Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem is not recognized by most of the international community, with Israel considering the entire city its capital.
In a noteworthy development, a Jordanian military cargo plane conducted an air-drop of medical supplies to a field hospital in northern Gaza, as announced by King Abdullah II early Monday. This marked the first such airdrop during the war, potentially offering an additional avenue for aid delivery alongside Egypt’s Rafah crossing, which has been the sole entry point thus far.
In response to mounting needs in Gaza, over 450 trucks carrying aid have been permitted to enter from Egypt since October 21. Nonetheless, humanitarian workers argue that this remains insufficient to meet the growing demands of the territory, which is home to approximately 2.3 million Palestinians.
Northern Gaza is currently facing a severe water crisis due to the lack of fuel to operate municipal wells, compounded by Israel’s closure of the region’s main water supply line. The United Nations’ humanitarian affairs office reports that seven water facilities across Gaza have been targeted in the last two days, suffering significant damage and increasing the risk of sewage flooding. Israel has managed to restore two water pipelines in central and southern Gaza, according to the UN.
As instructed by the Israeli military, approximately 800,000 people have fled to southern Gaza. On Sunday, around 2,000 individuals, carrying only what they could hold in their arms, embarked on a journey along Gaza’s main north-south highway. During this harrowing passage, Palestinian children witnessed tanks for the first time, prompting one unnamed man to plea for mercy from the world.
Despite supposedly designated safe zones, Israeli bombardments continue to strike various areas throughout Gaza and have resulted in the deaths of dozens of people in central and southern regions. Israel attributes civilian casualties to Hamas, accusing militants of operating from within residential neighborhoods.
On Monday, Palestinians mourned the loss of 66 individuals in a mass funeral held outside a hospital in the central town of Deir al-Balah. The bodies were laid on the ground, swathed in white sheets. A man with bandages wrapped around his head gently touched a child’s lifeless form, his grief palpable.
The Health Ministry disclosed that the death toll in Gaza has risen to 10,022, including more than 4,100 children and 2,600 women.
Meanwhile, in south Lebanon, an Israeli airstrike on a vehicle claimed the lives of four civilians, including three children, on Sunday evening. This incident prompted local civil defense officials and state-run media to report on the situation. While the Israeli military initially stated that it had targeted Hezbollah positions in response to anti-tank fire that killed an Israeli civilian, they later reevaluated the strike. In retaliation, Hezbollah fired Grad rockets from southern Lebanon into Israel.
During the overnight airstrikes in Gaza, the Israeli military claimed to have eliminated a senior Hamas militant identified as Jamal Mussa. Mussa was allegedly involved in a shooting attack against Israeli soldiers in Gaza back in 1993. Additionally, the Israeli military reported that 30 Israeli troops have perished since the ground offensive commenced over a week ago. Palestinian militants continue to launch rockets into Israel, disrupting the daily lives of citizens, although the majority are intercepted or fall in unpopulated areas. The escalating threats from Gaza and Lebanon have led tens of thousands of Israelis to evacuate border communities.
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AP’s Magdy reported from Cairo. Contributions to this report were made by Najib Jobain in Khan Younis, Amy Teibel and Sam McNeil in Jerusalem, and Kareem Chehayeb and Bassem Mroue in Beirut.
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For the full AP coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
