Israel has said it is intensifying attacks on north Gaza, and warned that anyone who stayed risked being considered a terrorist sympathiser, as airstrikes continued on Sunday in the south, where civilians had fled hoping to survive the war.
Israel’s military said the number of people held captive had risen to 212. The release of two Americans on Friday raised hopes that others might be able to return home.
Palestinian media reported that at least 11 people were killed in an Israeli strike in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, and that Israel was bombing the southern city of Rafah. The attacks came hours after the Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari called on Gaza’s residents to move south “for your own safety”.
The Palestinian health ministry said Israeli strikes have killed 4,741 Palestinians, with 15,898 hurt. Authorities in Gaza said that 40% of those killed in the Gaza Strip were children. Israel has been launching the attacks since 7 October, when a surprise Hamas attack inside Israel killed over 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians.
UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) has confirmed that 29 of its workers have been killed in Gaza since 7 October.
Israel said it had returned fire into Lebanon after a drone and anti-aircraft missiles were fired into northern Israel. The country has said it plans to evacuate 14 additional communities in the area.
Israel also struck the West Bank, hitting a compound beneath a mosque early on Sunday that the Israeli military claimed was being used by Hamas.
