After Gaza receives aid, Israel increases bombing and targets a mosque in the West Bank

 After Gaza receives aid, Israel increases bombing and targets a mosque in the West Bank

Israel said that the purpose of the bombings was to lessen the dangers that its soldiers would encounter when they entered Gaza during the next battle.

Gaza Strip: The UN warned of a "catastrophic" humanitarian scenario in the blockaded area as Israel's military said Saturday it will step up bombings on Hamas-controlled Gaza in anticipation of a planned ground invasion.

On Saturday, a small trickle of relief made its way into the Palestinian enclave from Egypt, but the 20 trucks that were allowed to pass have been compared to a "drop in the ocean" in light of the needs of the 2.4 million Palestinians.  

In retaliation for Hamas's deadly onslaught on October 7 in which terrorists murdered at least 1,400 people, predominantly civilians who were shot, maimed, or burned to death, according to Israeli authorities, the IDF has relentlessly bombed Gaza.

According to the Hamas-run health leadership, the terrorist attack campaign has claimed the lives of more than 4,300 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and left large areas of the densely inhabited region in ruins.

According to the UN quoting local sources, over 40% of all housing has been harmed or destroyed, and Israel has stopped supplying food, water, fuel, and power.

According to military spokesperson Admiral Daniel Hagari, Israel would now step up its bombardment to reduce the dangers to its forces when they start a foot assault.

"From today, we have grown the strikes and minimising the danger," he said.

"We will increase the attacks as well as therefore I called on Gaza City residents to maintain moving south for their safety."

More than a million people of Gaza's northern section have received warnings from Israel to leave for their safety, and the UN estimates that more than half of the population of the enclave has been forced to leave.

However, bombing has continued in the southern portions of the Gaza Strip, with nine people reportedly killed in an attack in Khan Younis overnight, according to Hamas officials.

It's estimated that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are still living in and around Gaza City in the north because they can't or won't leave.

Qatar is discussing the release of hostages.

Israeli soldiers have gathered in large numbers at the border with Gaza, and on Saturday, commanders went to the front lines to motivate troops.

Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, the chief of staff, informed one army unit during a visit, "We will enter Gaza."

"Gaza is densely populated, so the opposition is preparing a lot of things there -- but we are additionally preparing for them," Halevi said.

Israeli forces will face a variety of difficulties during a ground assault since they would probably come across Hamas booby traps and tunnels in a crowded metropolitan area.

Another challenging issue is the security of the more than 200 prisoners held in Gaza after being kidnapped by Hamas on October 7.

Following Qatar's intervention, two American captives were liberated on Friday night. Qatar stated additional hostages might be let free "very soon."

Majed Al-Ansari, a spokesperson for the Qatari foreign ministry, told the German daily Welt am Sonntag on Saturday, "We are taking the route that will very soon lead to the release of the the captives, especially civilians."

"We are currently working on A contract under which all civilian hostages will be immediately released," he said.

Twenty trucks delivering food and medicine but no gasoline crossed the border from Egypt into Gaza on Saturday as a result of discussions and US pressure.

After the bridge was blocked, UN authorities issued a warning that much more was required.

Before the most recent conflicts, Gaza was in a dire humanitarian position, according to a statement by five UN organizations.

Now, it's disastrous. The world needs to take greater action.

"Action must be taken,"

Antonio Guterres, the head of the UN, once again urged for a humanitarian truce at a peace meeting hosted by Egypt in order "to end this godawful nightmare."

The summit, however, failed to reach a consensus on a united call, with Arab delegates choosing to release their own statement criticizing global leaders while Western diplomats demanded a categorical denunciation of Hamas.

Residents of Gaza claimed to be shellshocked and unaware about where to run or how to defend their family.

Rami Abu Wazna said, "Regardless of in my worst nightmares, I never thought this was possibly possible," as he viewed the devastation in the Al-Zahra neighborhood of central Gaza.

The UN reports that some 40 unidentified dead were buried in a mass grave in Gaza City on Saturday because cold storage ran out prior to their could be identified. The severity of the bombardment has rendered basic services incapable of functioning.

Funeral arrangements were being made for Sunday at Israel's Kibbutz Beeri, where terrorists from Hamas slaughtered 10% of the local population.

Residents, according to Romy Gold, 70, are still finding it difficult to fathom the tragedy of what they went through.

"Around us whole families were shot or butchered or burned alive," he said to AFP.

He agrees with many others that the assault of Gaza on foot "cannot happen soon enough. There is a need for action.

"We need some kind of guarantee that it will not happen again," he said.

"Better to leave right away"

With scores of Palestinians killed in West Bank by Israeli incursions and settler assaults, the crisis has raised concerns of a larger conflagration.

In an airstrike on a mosque in Jenin, West Bank, Israel's military claimed to have hit "terror operatives"; the IDF said that a number of Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants were there preparing further operations.

According to the local Red Crescent and reported by the Palestinian news outlet Wafa, the strike resulted in one death and three injuries.

Firefights also went on across Israel's northern border with Lebanon, where Hezbollah militants and the IDF have been exchanging blows.

Hezbollah claimed that four of its militants and a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad were killed in south Lebanon.

Hezbollah anti-tank fire on the town of Baram left three troops injured, including one badly, according to Israeli officials. Two Thai agricultural laborers were also hurt.

The second-ranking member of Hezbollah claimed the organization was prepared to increase its engagement despite warnings from Western authorities not to.

"Let's be clear, as events take place, if something comes up that calls for greater participation by us, we will do so," Naim Qassem said.

Numerous towns in Israel's north have been evacuated, while about 4,000 Lebanese have escaped to Tyre, a city in the south.

"My children are all quite little. How will I escape with them all at once if the end of the world occurs? in a classroom devoid of tables and studded with flimsy mattresses, said Mustafa al-Sayyid.

"So I thought, better to leave now."