Israel has "expanded" its operations in the Gaza Strip with the Palestinian group Hamas saying its operatives were ready to confront attacks with "full force". As Israeli air and ground forces stepped up their attacks on Friday night, local telecom firms and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in Gaza said that the internet and mobile phone services were cut off.
"In the last hours, we intensified the attacks in Gaza," Israel's military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised news briefing. He also said that Israel's air force was conducting extensive strikes on Hamas' tunnels and other infrastructure.
"In addition to the attacks carried out in the last few days, ground forces are expanding their operations tonight," he said.
Since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israeli towns, that killed over 1,400 people, Gaza's health ministry has said that Israel's retaliatory bombardments have killed more than 7,300 Palestinians.
Here are the Highlights on the Israel-Hamas war:
Israeli forces waged ground operations against Hamas in Gaza on Sunday in what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the second phase of a three-week-old war aimed at crushing the Palestinian militant group.
Health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says death count passes 8,000
Hamas's leader in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, said Saturday that the Palestinian militant group was ready for an "immediate" prisoner swap with Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that defeating Hamas was an "existential test" for Israel, charging that 90 percent of the group's military budget came from Iran.
"We must defeat Hamas because the test is an existential test for us," Netanyahu told a news conference.
"Iran supports Hamas. I think that 90 percent of Hamas's military budget comes from Iran. It funds, it organises, it directs it."
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday condemned the Israeli ground operations in the Palestinian Gaza Strip, the state news agency WAM reported, citing the country's foreign ministry.
UAE, which became the first Gulf country to normalise relations with Israel in 2020, also "expressed its deep concern over the Israeli military escalation and exacerbation of the humanitarian crisis that threatens more loss of civilian lives."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Egypt President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi exchanged views on the latest developments in the "Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip" and the danger of continuing the current escalation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday the ground operation launched by Israeli troops in Gaza was the second stage in a war against the Islamist group Hamas that would be long and difficult.
Speaking at a news conference, he said every effort would be made to rescue the more than 200 hostages held by Hamas.
Israeli ground forces continued operating in the northern Gaza Strip Saturday, the army said, more than 24 hours after entering the Palestinian territory as the military expanded its war on Hamas.
"Since early Friday evening, combined combat forces of armour, combat engineers and infantry have been operating on the ground in the northern Gaza Strip," the army said in a statement.
Starlink will support connectivity to internationally recognised aid organisations in Gaza, Tesla chief Elon Musk said today.
Israel recalls diplomats, asks citizens to return from Turkey after Erdogan's "crescent-crusader conflict" comment.
"Given the grave statements coming from Turkey, I have ordered the return of diplomatic representatives there in order to conduct a reevaluation of the relations between Israel and Turkey," Israel's Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. Read more
Hamas today said it was ready to release Israeli hostages if Israel freed all Palestinians held in its prisons. Hamas' demand came amid Israel's massive ground offensive in Gaza City today, which Israel said has now "turned into a battlefield".
The Hamas terrorist headquarters under the Shifa Hospital is currently draining necessities from Gazans and using them for terror purposes, said the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).
According to the IDF, the terror group has been using the basic requirements of Gazans such as fuel, oxygen, water and electricity and using them for terrorism.
Don't just take it from us, watch what the terrorists from the October 7 massacre had to say about the Shifa hospital: https://t.co/IlFPjtyGeP pic.twitter.com/zLLE4C9otz
- Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 28, 2023
Israel said its war with Hamas had "entered a new phase" as the army relentlessly pounded Gaza three weeks into a conflict sparked by the deadliest attack in the country's history.
The United Nations warned thousands more civilians could die as Israel escalated ground operations in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory, while the European Union called for hostilities to stop to enable aid deliveries.
Saudi Arabia on Saturday warned Israel against any further ground operations in the embattled Gaza Strip over the threat to Palestinian civilians, denouncing an "unjustified" violation of international law.
Hamas is trying to locate eight Russian-Israeli dual citizens that were taken hostage during the Palestinian militant group's attack on Israel in order to free them on Moscow's request, Russian news agencies reported Saturday.
"From the Russian side, via the foreign ministry, we received a list of citizens that have dual citizenship," a Hamas representative was cited as saying by the RIA Novosti news agency. "We are looking for those people... It is hard but we are looking. And when we find them, we will let them go."
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk warned on Saturday that there was the potential for thousands more civilians to die as Israel presses a ground operation in Gaza.
"Given the manner in which military operations have been conducted until now, in the context of the 56-year-old occupation, I am raising alarm about the possibly catastrophic consequences of large-scale ground operations in Gaza and the potential for thousands more civilians to die," he said.
The health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza said Saturday that at least 7,703 people have been killed in the war with Israel that erupted on October 7.
Hamas is trying to locate eight Russian-Israeli dual citizens that were taken hostage during the Palestinian militant group's attack on Israel in order to free them on Moscow's request, Russian news agencies reported Saturday.
"From the Russian side, via the foreign ministry, we received a list of citizens that have dual citizenship," a Hamas representative was cited as saying by the RIA Novosti news agency. "We are looking for those people... It is hard but we are looking. And when we find them, we will let them go."
Video activity of the IDF Ground Forces in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/FWt0pFO53q
- Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 28, 2023
Israeli fighter jets struck 150 "underground targets" in northern Gaza during an intense night of raids, the army said Saturday, three weeks after the deadliest attack in the country's history.
Overnight, IDF fighter jets struck Asem Abu Rakaba, the Head of Hamas' Aerial Array.
- Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 28, 2023
Abu Rakaba was responsible for Hamas' UAVs, drones, paragliders, aerial detection and defense.
He took part in planning the October 7 massacre and commanded the terrorists who infiltrated...
Iran's foreign minister warned that new fronts would open against the US if it keeps up unequivocal support for Israel, escalating a rhetorical back-and-forth that has stoked fears the Israeli conflict with Hamas will spread into a wider regional war
Hundreds of people were arrested Friday when police broke up a large demonstration of mostly Jewish New Yorkers who had taken over the main hall of Grand Central station in protest of Israel's bombardment of Gaza, police and organizers said.
One of the biggest challenges the Israeli troops face in Gaza is an extensive Hamas tunnel network, where the group is said to have taken several hostages.
Doug and I met with families of Americans who are still unaccounted for following the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel, and my message to them was simple: You are not alone. @POTUS and I are doing everything we can to bring these Americans home. pic.twitter.com/ADUvjs7u0g
- Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) October 27, 2023
The telecommunications blackout in Gaza after Israel stepped up its attack on Hamas risks providing "cover for mass atrocities", the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said.
Israel's military has told international news organisations Reuters and Agence France Presse that it cannot guarantee the safety of their journalists operating in the Gaza Strip, under Israeli bombardment and siege for almost three weeks.
Israel has "expanded" its operations in the Gaza Strip with its air force conducting extensive strikes on Hamas' tunnels and other infrastructure.
"In addition to the attacks carried out in the last few days, ground forces are expanding their operations tonight," he said.Operational Update with IDF Spokesperson https://t.co/3DenBv8hnS
- Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 27, 2023