Israel Hamas war: Israel vows to step up strikes as fresh attacks see Gaza death toll rise

Gaza Strip: at least 55 dead in overnight Israeli bombings – Hamas

At least 55 people were killed in the Gaza Strip overnight from Saturday to Sunday after the announcement of the intensification of Israeli bombardments, Hamas has announced.

At least 55 people were killed “in the night until 6 a.m. and more than 30 homes (were) destroyed,” a Hamas statement said.

In its latest report on Saturday, Hamas reported nearly 4,400 deaths, mostly civilians, in Israeli strikes triggered by the bloody attack it launched on 7 October against Israel and which left 1,400 dead.

Israel will intensify strikes on Gaza – army

The Israeli army announced that it will “increase” its bombings on the Gaza Strip, in preparation for the next phase of its offensive against the Palestinian territory controlled by Hamas.

“From today we will increase strikes [on the Gaza Strip]”, warned General Daniel Hagari, spokesperson for the Israeli army.

General Hagari also confirmed the presence of at least 210 hostages in the Gaza Strip, most of them Israelis.

Several Israeli army officials visited the troops on Saturday, emphasising the preparation of the armed forces for a likely ground intervention in the Gaza Strip.

“We are going to enter Gaza, we are going to do it for an operational purpose, to destroy the infrastructure and the Hamas terrorists and we are going to do it in a professional manner”, Major Herzi Halevi, the IDf’s Chief of the General Staff said.

“Gaza is complex, Gaza is densely populated, the enemy is preparing a lot of things there, but we are also preparing,” warned Halevi, adding, “we will keep in mind the photographs and images, as well as the deaths of two weeks ago.”

Israeli airstrikes hit airports in Damascus and Aleppo

Syrian state media reported that Israeli airstrikes early on Sunday targeted the international airports of the Syrian capital Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo, killing one person.

The runways were damaged and put out of service.

The attack is the second this month on the Damascus International airport and the third on Aleppo’s airport as tensions increase in the Middle East over the Israel-Hamas war.

Syrian state media quoted an unnamed military official as saying the airports were struck by the Israeli military from the Mediterranean to the west and from Syria’s Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in the south.

It said one employee was killed and another wounded in Damascus in addition to material damage.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

Israel strikes underground compound at West Bank mosque, military says

The Israeli Defence Forces said a military aircraft launched a strike early Sunday on the Al-Ansar mosque at the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

The IDF said via X, formerly known as Twitter, that Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants had been using an “underground terror route” beneath the mosque. One Palestinian was killed in the shelling, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.

US Defence Secretary orders more defence systems in Middle East

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin announced late Saturday he was sending additional air defence systems to the Middle East as well as putting more troops on prepare-to-deploy orders.

Austin said the US would be delivering a Terminal High Altitude Area Defence, or THAAD, battery along with additional Patriot missile defence system batteries “to locations throughout the region to increase force protection for US troops.” Bases in Iraq and Syria have been repeatedly targeted by drones in the days since hundreds were killed in a hospital blast in Gaza, and the destroyer USS Carney intercepted land attack cruise missiles in the Red Sea shot from Yemen on Thursday.

Austin said he had also placed additional forces on prepare-to-deploy orders, “part of prudent contingency planning” as the US and others brace for the potential of a wider regional conflict and as Israel prepares to launch a ground assault into Gaza. He said he gave the orders after detailed discussions with President Joe Biden on the recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces across the region.