As Israel’s military gears up for a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged on Sunday to “wipe out Hamas” and end the Islamist militants’ deadly spree of attacks on Israeli border towns that shocked the world.
Israel has warned Gazans to flee south, where hundreds of thousands have already sought refuge in the crowded enclave of more than 2 million people, half of them in Gaza City.
But inside the besieged Gaza, where Israeli air strikes have killed many and worsened the living conditions, civilians said they had nowhere to go. Hamas, which controls Gaza, has told them to disregard Israel’s warning to move south.
According to Reuters, the situation is so dire that Palestinian health workers use ice cream freezer trucks to store bodies because transporting them to hospitals is too dangerous and graveyards are full.
With the risk of the conflict spreading, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken continued his swift tour of Middle East countries, trying to prevent escalation and secure the release of 126 hostages Israel says were taken by Hamas back into Gaza.
Hamas’ military wing Al Qassam Brigades said it launched 20 rockets from Lebanon on two Israeli settlements while Lebanon’s Iran-backed group Hezbollah said it hit barracks in Israel’s Hanita with missiles and caused casualties.
In retaliation, Israel said it was hitting Lebanon in response.
“Hamas thought we would be destroyed. It is we who will destroy Hamas,” Prime Minister of Isreal, Benjamin Netanyahu said.
Israel is conducting the most intense bombing Gaza has ever experienced in response to the killing of 1,300 people when Hamas fighters stormed through Israeli towns on Oct. 7.
