Operation Iron Swords - Day 22 - 28 October 2023

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu announced the beginning of the second stage of the war, the goal of which is to destroy the Palestinian Hamas movement and free the hostages. Israel has expanded ground operations, the goal of which remains the complete elimination of the Palestinian Hamas movement and the release of hostages, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. “The decision to carry out the ground operation was made unanimously, both in the (narrow) military action cabinet and in the political-military cabinet,” Netanyahu said in a televised address to the nation.

"We have received broad international support. Our allies in Western countries and neighbors in Arab countries understand the goals of this war and wish us victory. They understand that if we do not win this war, then they are next in line," the Israeli prime minister said. He also said that Israel "will not back down from the goal of eliminating Hamas" and seeks to move to the next stage and expand the ground operation.

IDF Spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said the IDF is proceeding with the stages of the war. Overnight, IDF forces entered the northern Gaza Strip and expanded ground activities. Covered by aerial support, IDF infantry, armor, engineer, and artillery forces took part in these activities. The expansion of the IDF’s operational activity furthers the war’s goals. The IDF is regularly assessing the situation and advancing according to the stages of the war. The IDF is continuing with large-scale, significant strikes from the air and from the sea, and the targeting of terrorists.

RMA (Head of the Air Operations Group), Brigadier General Gilad Kinan said: "In the attack flight tonight, about a hundred fighter jets dropped hundreds of weapons and destroyed hundreds of targets of the terrorist organization Hamas. The Air Force is prepared for the continued development of the campaign, and is working together with all the bodies in the IDF when The goal is clear - to destroy everything touched by Hamas." The commander of the fire center in the Southern Command, Col. Y., said: "We are using fire that has never been seen before in the Gaza Strip. From the air, from the ground or from the underground - the IDF will eliminate every senior or junior terrorist and every terrorist infrastructure of Hamas"

Israel did not so much carry out a full-scale invasion of Gaza as it began to enter the territory of the enclave in relatively small groups, without returning back, but progressively consolidating its position in the captured positions. Despite the statements of the media and Arab politicians, which were being actively circulated, it was not initially possible to speak reliably about a full-scale IDF ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. The original statement of the IDF representative only talked about some kind of “expansion of ground operations ,” whatever that means.

Hamas said that it had managed to thwart Israel’s assault, claiming to have repelled it with heavy losses.

Palestinian armed group Hamas launched thousands of missiles at Israel and deployed its militants to infiltrate Jewish settlements near the country’s border with Gaza on 07 October 2023. The 1,200 Israelis killed on the first day would be the equivalent of 36,000 Americans killed in an attack, as a proportion to Israel’s population of 9.3 million people (compared to 332 million in the USA). Israeli President Isaac Herzog stated: “Not since the Holocaust have so many Jews been killed in one day". PM Netanyahu stated "On October 7th, Hamas murdered 1,400 Israelis. Maybe more. This is in a country of fewer than 10 million people. This would be equivalent to over 50,000 Americans murdered in a single day. That’s twenty 9/11s. That is why October 7th is another day that will live in infamy."

The “well-informed leak” swept across the region faster than anything else had during this conflict: “Hamas is about to release all hostages that it is holding and that will stop the war.” Since the flare-up of violence on October 7, the Middle East has been awash with rumours, disinformation and half-truths. All invariably claim to be based on “leaks from well-informed sources“, “information obtained by sympathisers“, or “indiscretion from foreign diplomats”.

Zoran Kusovac, geopolitical and security analyst and war correspondent, concluded the claim of a “hostage release to end the war” passes initial scrutiny at almost all levels and appears possible, plausible and even fits in with the pattern of behavior of many participants. Israel initially responded with near-universal support for total war on Gaza, but when heads cooled slightly many realised that a major offensive would be extremely bloody for the Israeli military and civilians – especially the captives held by Hamas. Then came the military command’s lack of enthusiasm for a difficult war without clear military and political objectives and precise lines of responsibility. The issue of potential differences within the Israeli cabinet on the real aim of the war also came up.

Hamas could claim the eventual release of Israelis and foreigners it took on October 7 in exchange for a lull in fighting, as a clear success. An Iran that can come to terms with the US, even on a single issue and with a limited scope, would gain influence and respect. Biden possibly chose a lull in the fighting over any other option. He needed every brownie point he can get before his 2024 re-election campaign and may be trying to walk that fine line between a diplomatic success and abject support for Netanyahu.

IDF Spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said "In regards to the reports that were published yesterday about hostage deals - interested parties, and Hamas, first and foremost, have a deliberate interest to cynically exploit and employ psychological warfare to influence our population, which is in a sensitive state. The IDF is working together with the National Coordinator for the Captives and Missing, who was appointed by the political echelon, and we will continue to share accurate information when we have it. This is critical - when we have reliable information, we will share it. Bringing home the hostages is a top priority and a national effort. All of our activities, our operations and our intelligence is directed towards the realization of this goal." The United Nations Security Council struggled to agree on whether to impose a ceasefire or a humanitarian pause allowing aid to flow to the Gaza Strip’s besieged population – largely because of political differences among members. Russia and China vetoed a United States resolution calling for a “humanitarian pause”. They wanted a “ceasefire”. The US, the UK and some other countries back Israel’s right to defend itself — by continuing its war on Gaza.

A ceasefire usually involves a formal political process with commitments to de-escalate conflict, such as withdrawing weapons or repositioning forces. It tends to cover the entire geographical area on which the war is being waged. It may lead to a permanent settlement. Samir Puri, a visiting lecturer on war studies at King’s College London, thinks a ceasefire is “unimaginable” in the present circumstances, given that “a binding agreement with signatories and associated de-escalatory obligations” would be required.”They take real effort to negotiate in the first place,” he says.

A Humanitarian pause would be the temporary cessation of fighting, purely for humanitarian reasons. Pauses are sometimes confined to a specific geographical area where the humanitarian activities are being carried out. Usually in force for a defined period, a pause can last as little as a few hours.

Palestinian health authorities say that at least 7,703 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, more than three times the number killed in the six-week-long war in 2014. The death toll included 3,595 children, 1,863 women, and 397 elderly individuals. In addition, 19,734 citizens have been injured since October 7th. More than 1,650 were missing and presumed buried undre rubble, including 940 children. On the West bank, at least 109 Palestinians had been killed, and more than 1,900 injured. IDF said it was holding 1,500 bodies of terrorists.

More than 1,400 Israelis were killed as a result of HAMAS attacks, including 311 soldiers and officers, according to what was announced by the Israeli army.

Some 230 hostages are being held by militants in the Gaza Strip, according to the Israeli army. Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said “almost 50” hostages had been killed in Israeli bombing raids in the three weeks since the war began. About 100 Israelis remained missing.

By one estimate, over 10,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. More Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank led to the arrests of dozens of Palestinians, and the number held in Israeli jails has more than doubled to about 10,000 since the Hamas attack on October 7. Israeis jails initially held about 4,000 prisoners from Gaza, and more than 1,550 from the West Bank.

Thousands of Palestinians whose permits to work in Israel were revoked are believed to be held in detention camps, but Israel has so far refused to release information about them, human rights groups say. About 18,500 residents of Gaza held permits to work outside the besieged strip. On October 10, Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) revoked all work permits it had previously issued to Gaza residents, instantly turning permit-holders into “illegal aliens”. The Minister of Labour for the Palestinian Authority estimated that about 4,500 workers are unaccounted for and are believed to have been detained by Israeli forces.

Hamas is trying to locate eight Russian-Israeli dual citizens that were taken hostage during the Palestinian group's attack on Israel in order to free them on Moscow's request, Russian news agencies reported. "From the Russian side, via the foreign ministry, we received a list of citizens that have dual citizenship," senior Hamas representative Moussa Abu Marzook 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.... We are very attentive to this list and will process it carefully because we consider Russia to be a closest friend," he said.

Hamas leader Musa Abu Marzouk provided clarifications regarding the characteristics, nationalities, and fate of the prisoners of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. Abu Marzouk spoke about the prisoners held by Hamas, and other prisoners held by ordinary citizens and other factions. Abu Marzouk explained that Hamas is holding about 200 prisoners, and considers them all Israelis, and does not give consideration to some of them holding other nationalities in addition to Israeli citizenship. The Russian Information Agency quoted him as saying, "Hamas does not consider its captives to be Russian, French, or American. All those captured, for us, are Israelis although there is an appeal to look at their original nationalities in the hope that this will save them," he said.

Regarding the prisoners held by parties other than Hamas, Abu Marzouk explained that “the movement needs time to search for them, classify them, and then release the civilians among them who do not hold Israeli nationalities.” Abu Marzouk said, "After the Israeli army's defense lines were broken and the army's Gaza division fell, hundreds of citizens and dozens of fighters from various Palestinian factions entered the territories occupied in 1948 and arrested dozens, most of them civilians."

He stated, "Hamas presented from the first day its vision regarding civilian prisoners, which is that we want the release of all civilian detainees and foreigners who do not hold Israeli citizenship," adding that these "are our guests until the appropriate conditions are available for their release." He said that these guests could not be released in light of the intense Israeli bombing, as the destructive force of the Israeli bombs that fell on Gaza during the past 20 days was equivalent to the nuclear bomb that struck Hiroshima.

Hamas’ armed wing said it was ready to release the hostages it abducted during its shock attack on October 7. “The price to pay for the large number of enemy hostages in our hands is to empty the (Israeli) prisons of all Palestinian prisoners,” Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Obeida said in a statement broadcast by the Hamas-run Al-Aqsa television channel. “If the enemy wants to close this file of detainees in one go, we are ready for it. If it wants to do it step-by-step, we are ready for that too.”

Hamas fired some rockets from the Gaza Strip towards Israeli border towns. Sirens also sounded in the cities of Tel Aviv and Bat Yam, Israeli media reported, but there were no reports of damage or casualties.

Previously, Israel targeted specific buildings that left surrounding ones intact, whereas now Israel was seeming to been level entire streets and neighborhoods to the ground, In the five days following October 7, Israel dropped over 6,000 bombs on the densely populated territory, more than it did in 50 days in 2014.

The latest Israeli raids were one of the most intense nights of attacks since the war began and coincided with ground invasion. "Hundreds of buildings and houses were completely destroyed and thousands of other homes were damaged," said Gaza Civil Defence spokesperson Mahmud Bassal. The intense bombardment had "changed the landscape" of northern Gaza.

Internet and phone communications had gone down in Gaza, making rescue and humanitarian efforts even harder. Telecommunications services are down across Gaza. Palestinian telecom provider, Paltel, said the bombardment caused “complete disruption” of internet, cellular and landline services late on Friday. Some satellite phones continued to function.

Türkiye said that Israel's blackout, intended to prevent all international communication channels connecting Gaza to the outside world "clearly indicates an intent to commit war crimes." Fahrettin Altun, Turkish communications director said "This is an attempt to hide the ugly truth of Israeli destruction of civilian lives," after Israel announced expanding its land "operations" inside besieged Gaza. "The complete cutoff of landline, mobile, and internet communications in the Gaza Strip signals the latest stage in Israel's military campaign against Palestinians."

Deborah Brown, the senior technology and human rights researcher at Human Rights Watch, said: “This information blackout risks providing cover for mass atrocities and contributing to impunity for human rights violations.” Amnesty International said the lack of communication in Gaza “means that it will be even more difficult to obtain critical information and evidence about human rights violations and war crimes being committed against Palestinian civilians in Gaza, and to hear directly from those experiencing the violations”.

Israeli forces had made several smaller-scale ground incursions inside Gaza, but the current one has been their longest presence in the territory since violence erupted with a deadly Hamas assault on October 7. Israeli forces announced that they are “expanding” ground activities in northern Gaza as the besieged enclave faces the largest bombardment of Israeli attacks since the start of the war.

The Israeli military said it had entered northern Gaza overnight and expanded ground invasion with infantry and armoured corps in the besieged Palestinian enclave. Military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Israeli forces were still "in the field", without elaborating. Hamas’s military wing said it was confronting Israeli forces in the areas of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza and Burej in the centre of the territory – both entry points that have been used by Israeli forces in previous conflicts. “Violent engagements” are taking place on the ground, Qassam Brigades said.

The Iran-based Tasnim News Agency said that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) attempted to enter the enclave from several areas in the north, west, and southwest “to split the Gaza Strip into two or three sections and cut off the connection among the Palestinian resistance forces before launching the next stage of the war.” The agency did not specify what results the Israeli military had achieved so far.

Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi: “The objectives of this war require a ground operation - the best soldiers are now operating in Gaza”. Time magazine stated that Israel's declared goal is to eliminate the Hamas movement as an armed group and political force in the Gaza Strip . He pointed to the opinions of experts who say that Israeli officials are not thinking strategically enough about long-term plans for Gaza while they study what is expected to be a costly ground attack in the Strip. The magazine identified 4 possible options for Israel towards Gaza, based on conversations with experts who say each of them had its own challenges.

1. The first option: Israel does not launch a ground attack. Because it will lead to more deaths for both sides. The Israeli army will face a type of urban warfare that it has not witnessed in 9 years since the last ground invasion in 2014, which lasted 50 days and claimed the lives of 72 Israelis and 2,251 Palestinians. This time, the presence of about 220 hostages may complicate matters further. “It is likely that the hostages will be dispersed,” says Alex Pletsas of the Atlantic Council think tank. “Given the lack of medical evacuation support or the ability to easily insert rapid reaction forces to support those working on the ground, it will be difficult to conduct simultaneous covert hostage rescue missions in multiple locations across Gaza."
2. The second option: reoccupying Gaza. In this scenario, Israel may reoccupy the Gaza Strip and become responsible for governing the Palestinian territories. This scenario could be among the worst possible options for Israel. US President Joe Biden also warned in a previous interview that “it would be a mistake” for Israel to reoccupy the region, exposing Israeli forces to violent resistance.
3. The third option: eliminating Hamas and leaving Gaza. In this scenario, Israel would seek to destroy Hamas, but would refrain from getting involved in the messy business of governing Gaza. In this case the Strip could easily descend into further chaos and violent conflict as different groups compete to fill the power vacuum created by Hamas's absence. It may seem like the new regime that America tried to establish in Iraq after the fall of the Baath regime in 2003.
4. The Fourth option: Bringing a new player to rule Gaza, In this case, Israel may seek to search for other local factions inside Gaza and try to enter into a partnership with them to create a new ruling party. This could mean tribal leaders, NGOs, mayors, or even senior figures in Fatah, the political movement that controls the Palestinian Authority.

The deadly, drawn-out sieges in the 1940s Soviet Union, 1990s Chechnya, and last year in Ukraine, respectively, are the closest examples of what a ground invasion of Gaza would look like, according to Zoran Kusovac, a strategic analyst and consultant. Netanyahu’s desire for a protracted conflict is to deflect from the years-long corruption cases he faces, as well as the weekly protests against his government’s overhaul of Israel’s judicial system, said Haim Bresheeth, a professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London and author of An Army Like No Other: How the Israel Defense Forces Made a Nation.

“He wants it to be very long [so that he doesn’t] go to jail. And after the war, who will have the energy to put him into jail?” Bresheeth told Al Jazeera, saying that Netanyahu also wants to prevail as “the hero destroying Hamas”. “He’s not concerned about the people who were killed by the attackers on the seventh of October. And he’s not concerned about the prisoners of war.”

A longer, more enduring war exacted through a ground invasion is still very much in the cards. Mediating the end of the conflict through diplomacy is also a possibility, but one studded with a number of thorny issues centered on the hegemony of Western power. A third and most extreme scenario would be the reoccupation of the Gaza Strip – or the expulsion of Palestinians from the territory entirely.

There's no alternative to a ground offensive, said Michael Milshtein, a former member of Israel's military intelligence, now a researcher at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University. "Hamas was always very clear in its goals — promoting jihad and erasing Israel," he told DW. According to Milshtein. A power vacuum must not be allowed to emerge. Withdrawing quickly would do that, he said, "leaving behind a vacuum which will be filled by anarchy and radical Islamist groups."

1. Scenario 1: Israel takes control of the Gaza Strip. Israel would have to seal itself off from the Gaza Strip even more. "Israel would make itself a jail warden, presiding indefinitely over an immense prison camp (to which Gaza has long been compared)," the magazine Foreign Affairs wrote. The blockade is not likely to be loosened, the vast majority of people will remain dependent on food handouts, there will be electricity shortages and people will continue to suffer from multiple public health crises.
2. Scenario 2: The Palestinian Authority takes over Gaza's administration. The Palestinian Authority, led by Mahmoud Abbas and dominated by the Fatah party, administers semi-autonomous areas of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The Palestinian Authority and the party that runs it, Fatah, is unpopular among locals in the occupied West Bank. Civilians have protested against it in the past, accusing it of corruption, poor leadership and democratic illegitimacy.
3. Scenario 3: A Palestinian civilian administration. A better option, albeit more difficult, would be a mixed Palestinian civilian authority, said Milshtein. An authority like this could be made up of different representatives of Palestinian society, including, for example, local mayors. It would also likely have close ties to the Palestinian Authority.
4. Scenario 4: A United Nations-led administration. The United Nations can take over a former conflict zone after one party to the conflict is defeated, Stetter said, referring to earlier examples from Kosovo and East Timor. But that's not realistic in the Gaza Strip. It would be far harder in this case, if not impossible because this conflict is so much the focus of global public opinion.
5. Scenario 5: An administration run by Arab states. This could be in the interests of some Arab states, especially those who have strong reservations about theMuslim Brotherhood. A defeat of Hamas will not be viewed unfavorably in Riyadh and Cairo. Hamas is seen as the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, which Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates oppose. other Arab states taking the lead in the Gaza Strip, together with the Palestinian Authority.
6. Scenario 6: a land without a people - Another possible scenario could change the entire makeup of the Gaza Strip, either through Israeli reoccupation of the territory, or the expulsion of all Palestinians there. Israel’s aim since the establishment of the State of Israel, was to have the most amount of land with the least amount of Palestinians. Palestinians have been resistant to the idea of evacuating the Strip. Egypt has refuted the idea of allowing Palestinians to move into its Sinai territory, stating it will lead to their expulsion from Gaza. Clearing Gaza entirely is still an extreme right-wing idea among Israel’s public – but one that had been gaining ground in the last few weeks.

Israel said its forces have attacked Hamas "above ground and below ground." Meanwhile, families of hostages demanded answers from the Israeli government about the fate of their loved ones. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said his country has "moved to the next stage in the war" against Hamas. "Last evening, the ground shook in Gaza. We attacked above ground and underground ... we attacked terror operatives of all ranks, everywhere," he said in a video statement.

Gallant said operations that began overnight would continue — targeting tunnels and other infrastructure of Hamas as well as leaders of the Islamist movement, which is considered a terrorist organization by the EU, Germany, the United States and other countries. "The instructions for the forces are clear: the operation will continue until a new order."

Israel Defense Forces has carried out some of the most intensive bombings of the Gaza Strip since the current conflict began. IDF officials say jets hit 150 underground targets in northern parts of Gaza between Friday night and Saturday morning, including tunnels and underground facilities. The Israeli army said it had killed several Islamist Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip. Among the targets were tunnels, underground rooms and other infrastructure. Air force Brigadier General Gilad Keinan said around 100 fighter jets had destroyed hundreds of Hamas targets overnight. "The goal is clear: to destroy everything related to Hamas," he said.

Israel's military restated a call for Palestinians to evacuate the northern Gaza Strip ahead of a full Israeli ground operation. "This is an urgent military advisory," said spokesman Daniel Hagari on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. "For your immediate safety, we urge all residents of northern Gaza and Gaza City to temporarily relocate south." "The impending IDF [Israel Defense Forces] operation is set to neutralize the threat of Hamas with precision and intensity," he said.

The grond campaign started when the Israeli military spokesperson distributed a map asserting that al-Shifa hospital is the headquarters of Hamas leadership … Hamas then denied it has any rooms underneath the hospital. An hour later, Gaza experienced a complete blackout. At about 7pm local time, a major attack by sea and land took place, concentrated on the northern part of the Gaza Strip, around the vicinity of al-Shifa hospital. It was difficult to get an exact number of casualties at this stage, but there were reports that hundreds of people had been killed in those areas and emergency services were not able to get to them in time to help.

The Biden administration said it is “not drawing red lines” for Israel, reiterating its unwavering support for the Israeli military campaign. Two US officials told the American media outlet ABC News that the US government has been “pressuring Israel to adopt a narrower scope for its offensive and take a more incremental approach”. The Washington Post also reported that the Biden administration is urging Israel to pursue “surgical” operations in Gaza, as opposed to a full ground incursion.

The Pentagon said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to his Israeli counterpart on Friday and “underscored the importance of protecting civilians” during the Israeli military’s operations and focused “on the urgency of humanitarian aid delivery for civilians in Gaza”.

Chanting “no more weapons, no more war,” hundreds of anti-Zionism Jewish Americans and their supporters protested at New York’s Grand Central station, demanding Israel stop committing “genocide” in blockaded Gaza. "Mourn the dead, and fight like hell for the living," read one banner raised inside the building. The demonstration was organised by Jewish Voice for Peace, an anti-Zionism group.

Independent American presidential candidate and philosopher Cornel West called for an end to what he described as Israeli "genocide" against the people of Gaza . While US Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar warned that the Israeli invasion of the Strip would have catastrophic repercussions, many cities in the United States witnessed demonstrations in support of Gaza.

Candidate West's demand came in a speech he delivered during a demonstration in support of Gaza organized by students at the University of California on the campus during which they demanded an end to the war and denounced the Israeli aggression against the Strip. In a video on his account on the “X” platform, West said that he joined the demonstration at the University of California to support his Palestinian brothers who are being subjected to bloody attacks and Israel is committing genocide against them, and he demanded an immediate end to the siege imposed on Gaza.

West also criticized, in a television interview yesterday evening, the US administration’s position in support of Israel, which he described as “immoral,” as well as “the double standards with which the American media deals with war victims.” The presidential candidate explained, “The American media urges citizens to support the victims of Israel, while portraying the civilian victims in Gaza as terrorists who should be targeted militarily, and supporting the siege imposed on them by the Israeli occupation, which cut off their electricity, water, food, and medicine, and continues to destroy living facilities in Gaza, including This includes schools and hospitals.

US Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar warned that the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip would have catastrophic repercussions and would exacerbate the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. She called on the Americans to oppose the Israeli invasion, and warned that it might drag the United States into a broader regional conflict with undesirable consequences. She said that the majority of Americans oppose the Israeli invasion of Gaza, and that two-thirds of Americans and 80% of Democrats support a ceasefire to end this terrifying war.

Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib was under pressure because of her position against the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene is seeking to pass a draft resolution in the US House of Representatives condemning her because of her position in support of Gaza. Tlaib expressed her denunciation of the draft resolution seeking to condemn her, and said that she stands with the Jews seeking to stop the ongoing violence and ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sharply criticized the "unprecedented escalation" of bombardments on Gaza and urged an "immediate" humanitarian cease-fire for the delivery of aid. "Regrettably, instead of the pause, I was surprised by an unprecedented escalation of the bombardments and their devastating impacts, undermining the referred humanitarian objectives," Guterres said on a visit to Doha. "This situation must be reversed. I reiterate my strong appeal for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, together with the unconditional release of hostages and a delivery of humanitarian relief," he added.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk warned 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.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell demanded on Saturday a "pause of hostilities" to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. "Gaza is in complete blackout and isolation while heavy shelling continues," Borrell wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. "UNRWA warns about the desperate situation of Gaza people without electricity, food, water. Far too many civilians, including children, have been killed. This is against International Humanitarian Law.... We condemn all attacks against civilians, including continuing indiscriminate rocket attacks against Israel, and we ask the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages."

Spain's acting Social Rights Minister Ione Belarra issued a passionate appeal to the EU countries, calling on them to respond to the recent escalation of attacks by Israel in the northern region of Gaza and other areas. "After this hellish night in Gaza, I have a very simple but very important message for European leaders: Do not make us complicit in genocide. Act. Not in our name," she said,

Saudi Arabia sharply criticized the Israeli military campaign in the Gaza Strip, as Israel expanded its ground offensive. "Saudi Arabia condemns and denounces any ground operations carried out by Israel as this will threaten lives of Palestinian civilians, and expose them to further perils and inhuman conditions," the monarchy's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The statement said Riyadh follows with "extreme concern the Israeli military escalation" in Gaza due to ground operations. The ministry warned against "the danger of continuing to carry out these blatant and unjustified violations of international law against the brotherly Palestinian people," saying it would have "serious repercussions for the stability of the region." Saudi Arabia, seen as a key backer of the Palestinians, has paused talks on a possible normalization of ties with Israel over the Gaza bombing, according to Saudi diplomatic sources.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a pro-Palestinian rally in Istanbul that Israel was committing "war crimes." He called on Israel to emerge from what he described as its "state of insanity" and end military actions in Gaza. Earlier, the Turkish leader had already called Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, "freedom fighters," not terrorists. Ankara maintains contacts with Hamas and, according to its own statements, is trying to secure the release of the hostages from the Gaza Strip. Erdogan called Western powers "the main culprit" behind the Israeli army's "massacre" of Palestinians in Gaza. "If we leave aside some conscientious voices... the massacre in Gaza is entirely the work of the West," Erdogan told a rally of at least several hundred thousand Palestinian supporters in Istanbul. He accused Western powers of "shedding tears" over the death of civilians in Ukraine, while ignoring the death of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Erdogan added that Israel was behaving like a "war criminal" with its siege of Gaza.

"The West owes you (Israel), but Türkiye does not. That is why we speak without hesitation," President Erdogan said, addressing the "Great Palestine Rally" in solidarity with Gaza. "The West's book of sins has once again overstepped its bounds," he added, emphasising that Israel could not commit such atrocities without Western backing.

Erdogan stated that his country is preparing to reveal to the world that Israel is a war criminal, as thousands rallied in solidarity with Palestinians at the "Great Palestine Rally" in Istanbul. "As we will be shouting out to the whole world our joy of the 100th anniversary of our Republic tomorrow, we are speaking out our heartache for Gaza today,” Erdogan said, addressing the rally at the Ataturk Airport.

"What was Gaza, Palestine in 1947? What is it today? Israel, how did you get here? How did you enter? You are an occupier, you are an organisation," Erdogan said, stressing that Türkiye intends to present Tel Aviv to the world as a war criminal. A vile massacre is being carried out in Gaza, he stressed, once again asking how many innocent children, women and elderly must die before a ceasefire is declared.

“West, I appeal to you! Do you want to spark a new war between the cross and the crescent? If you are making such efforts for this, then know: this people is not dead, they are firmly on their feet. We are filled with the same determination as in Libya , in Karabakh, know that we are like that in the Middle East,” he emphasized. "So, Israel , you are doomed to be alone in the world and after that you will be doomed no matter what you do."

Fahrettin Altun, Turkish communications director accused the Western countries of continued inaction in the face of "this assault that renders them complicit in this crime.... The reckless disregard for the humanity of the people in Gaza and the collective punishment unleashed upon them are unconscionable and indefensible." He said those who oppose any restrictions on Israel's ability to attack indiscriminately and without any consequences "must take another look at where they stand."

"They must realise that their enabling stance in these horrible days will go down as a permanent stain in their history." Calling for an immediate halt to Israeli aggression on Gaza, Altun said the world powers supporting atrocities on Palestinians "have no moral high ground to lecture anyone from now on."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Israel's bombardment of Gaza runs counter to international law and risks creating a catastrophe that could last decades. "While we condemn terrorism, we categorically disagree that you can respond to terrorism by violating the norms of international humanitarian law, including indiscriminately using force against targets where civilians are known to be present, including hostages that have been taken," said Lavrov.

It was impossible, he added, to destroy Hamas - as Israel has vowed to do - without destroying Gaza along with most of its civilian population. "If Gaza is destroyed and 2 million inhabitants are expelled, as some politicians in Israel and abroad propose, this will create a catastrophe for many decades, if not centuries," warned Lavrov.

Iran will not follow US warnings about non-intervention in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Fars agency quotes the President of the Islamic Republic Ebrahim Raisi as saying. “Washington wants Iran to do nothing regarding the Palestinian conflict with Israel , while at the same time the US provides broad support for Israel, which ultimately makes their calls empty and useless,” he said. Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian warned of opening new fronts against the United States if it continues to help the Jewish state.