Israel intensifies its attacks in Gaza as concern about civilian fatalities increases

 Israel intensifies its attacks in Gaza as concern about civilian fatalities increases

Nov. 6, GAZA (Reuters) - According to Israel's military, in the last 24 hours, Israeli fighter planes destroyed 450 Hamas targets in Gaza and forces took control of a terrorist facility; the enclave's health officials said that several individuals were killed in these operations.

One of the most intensive bombardments from the air, ground, and sea since Israel began its war a month ago in response to Hamas' surprise onslaught on southern Israel, according to a Reuters correspondent in the Gaza Strip, took place overnight.

Since Hamas murdered 1,400 people and took over 240 captives on October 7, more than 9,770 Palestinians have died in the conflict, according to health authorities in Gaza, which is under Hamas rule.

Israel, which claims to have surrounded Gaza City, is under increasing pressure to prevent civilian fatalities after rejecting a truce until the captives are freed. The United States is also stepping up its diplomatic efforts in the area in an effort to lessen the likelihood that the battle would worsen.

Numerous persons were killed by the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City and in Gaza's southern neighborhoods, including Zawaida and Deir Al-Balah, according to the health ministry in Gaza. Medical sources were cited by Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV as stating that the strikes resulted in at least 75 Palestinian deaths and 106 injuries.

According to the Israeli army, "tunnels, terrorists, military compounds, observation posts, and anti-tank missile launch posts" were all targets of their operations. It added that while seizing a terrorist facility with observation stations, training sites, and subterranean tunnels, ground forces killed many Hamas members.

Reuters was unable to independently confirm these reports.

Hours after hundreds of protesters at a pro-Palestinian demonstration attempted to overrun an air base that houses American soldiers in southern Turkey, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was scheduled to meet with Turkey's Foreign Minister in Ankara.

Blinken unexpectedly traveled to the West Bank on Sunday to meet with Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, who has joined the global chorus of voices demanding an immediate end to hostilities. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out a ceasefire for the time being, despite Blinken restating American worries that it may help Hamas.

CIA CHIEF VISIT REPORTED The New York Times said that U.S. CIA Director William Burns was scheduled to visit Israel on Monday in order to confer with high-ranking officials on intelligence and the war. An unidentified U.S. official was mentioned in the article as adding that Burns would also stop in other Middle Eastern nations to talk about the Gaza crisis.

When Reuters asked the CIA for comment, the agency did not reply.

Since starting increased ground operations in Gaza on October 27, Israel has reported that 31 troops had lost their lives. Israel is battling hundreds of Hamas terrorists who think they can stop Israel's assault in the maze-like tunnels underneath the territory.

For their own protection, Israel has urged residents of north Gaza, which is home to Hamas's main military base, to flee to the south. They have been given until November 5 to do so.

But according to a U.N. humanitarian briefing, U.N. surveillance revealed that less than 2,000 did so, with reasons including fear, significant road damage, and a lack of information because of poor communications.

Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus claimed to have shown reporters overhead imagery showing Hamas tunnels and missile positions near two northern Gazan hospitals, demonstrating Israel's lack of responsibility for "what's happening now in northern Gaza."

In a statement, Hamas demanded that U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres appoint a commission to visit hospitals in Gaza in order to confirm Israel's "false narrative" that Hamas operates there.

The U.N. humanitarian office (OCHA) reported that many displaced individuals are sleeping in the streets close to the shelters run by the U.N. Palestinian Refugee Agency because they are overcrowded and unable to accommodate new arrivals.

'RIPPED APART FLESH'

According to reports in state media and a post on X by Jordan's monarch, the Jordanian air force air-dropped vital medical assistance to the Jordanian field hospital in Gaza early on Monday.

Paltel, a telecom company, said that services were gradually returning after being cut off from the Israeli side on Sunday.

The Ohio-class nuclear missile submarine has arrived in the area, according to U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East. This rare revelation of a nuclear submarine's presence was seen by some experts as a warning to Iran, an Israeli adversary.

At Gaza's Maghazi refugee camp, where the health ministry said Israeli troops had killed at least 47 people in strikes early on Sunday, residents looked for casualties or survivors.

"I spent the whole night attempting to separate the deceased from the debris with the other guys. We received youngsters, mutilated, with ripped flesh," 53-year-old Saeed al-Nejma said.

The Israeli military claimed it was collecting information when contacted for comment.

According to the health ministry, 21 Palestinians from a single family were murdered in strikes in a different incident. The Israeli military chose not to respond.

Reuters was unable to independently confirm these reports.

Insisting on a "immediate ceasefire" from Israel, Abbas said Blinken, "We demand that you stop them from committing these crimes immediately."

According to news agency WAFA, Abbas said that the Palestinians were up against a battle of "genocide and destruction".

Other Israeli-Palestinian conflicts have been exacerbated by the war.

Israeli police said that a 16-year-old Palestinian in East Jerusalem had attacked and injured two policemen before being shot. Medical personnel said that Israeli army fire had killed one Palestinian and injured three others in the occupied West Bank, another area in which Palestinians aspire for independence. Regarding the occurrence, a military spokeswoman has not yet responded.

After three children and their grandmother were murdered by an Israeli attack on a vehicle in the country's south, according to Lebanese officials, tensions with Lebanon escalated.

In reaction to a missile strike on tanks that claimed the life of an Israeli civilian, Israel claimed to have struck "terrorist targets of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon". According to Hezbollah, it retaliated by launching missiles toward the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona.

Reports from Dan Williams in Jerusalem, Ali Sawafta as well as Simon Lewis in Ramallah, Costas Pitas in Los Angeles, as well as Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza; David Lawder, writing from Washington; Editing through Timothy Heritage, William Maclean, as well as Simon Cameron-Moore, Lincoln Feast