Israel presses ground offensive against Hamas in ‘second stage’ of Gaza war

Jerusalem — Israeli forces fought ground operations against Hamas in Gaza on Sunday in what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the second phase of a war to crush the Palestinian militant group.

Gaza’s besieged residents battled with a near-total communications blackout as Israel’s warplanes dropped bombs and its troops and armour pushed into the Hamas-ruled enclave. Israeli military chiefs signalled they were gearing up for an expanded ground offensive.

The disruption of communications affected rescue operations as people hit by Israeli air strikes could not call for help. But several Palestinian media outlets reported early on Sunday that phone and internet communications were returning gradually in Gaza.

Netanyahu warned Israelis to expect a “long and hard” campaign but stopped short of calling the incursions an invasion. Some of US President Joe Biden’s aides advised Israeli counterparts to hold off on an immediate all-out assault, say US officials.

Even as initial ground operations appeared limited for now, Netanyahu pledged to spare no effort to free the more than 200 hostages, including foreigners, held by Hamas.

“This is the second stage of the war whose goals are clear: to destroy Hamas’ governing and military capabilities and to bring the hostages home,” Netanyahu told reporters on Saturday.

“We are only at the start,” he said. “We will destroy the enemy above ground and below ground.”

Israel has tightened its blockade and bombarded Gaza for three weeks since the Islamist group’s devastating October 7 attack. At least 1,400 Israelis were killed in the deadliest day of the nation’s 75-year history, Israeli authorities said.

Western countries have generally backed what they say is Israel’s right to self-defence. But there is a mounting international outcry over the toll from the bombing and growing calls for a “humanitarian pause” to let aid reach Gaza civilians and ease the humanitarian crisis.

Civil order under strain

Thousands of Gaza residents broke into warehouses and distribution centres of the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) grabbing flour and “basic survival items”, the organisation said on Sunday.

“This is a worrying sign that civil order is starting to break down after three weeks of war and a tight siege on Gaza,” UNRWA said in a statement.

Medical authorities in the Gaza Strip, which has a population of 2.3-million people, say 7,650 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's campaign to obliterate the Iran-backed militants.

President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Palestinian Authority governs parts of the occupied West Bank while Hamas rules Gaza, said: “Our people in the Gaza Strip are facing a war of genocide and massacres committed by the Israeli occupation forces in full view of the entire world.”

Three Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank overnight, the Palestinian health ministry said on Sunday.

With many buildings in Gaza reduced to rubble and shelter hard to find, residents are short of food, water, fuel and medicines.

“God help anyone under the rubble,” said one Gaza journalist, who spent a terrifying night in a building stairway as bombs fell and Israeli forces appeared to exchange fire with Palestinian fighters.

Israel’s chief military spokesperson declined to say whether Israel was behind the telecommunications blackout but said it will do what it must to protect its forces.

Israel sent troops and tanks into Gaza on Friday night, focusing on infrastructure including the extensive tunnel network built by Hamas, the Israeli military said. It provided no details on the size of the deployment.

Netanyahu on Saturday reiterated Israel’s call for Palestinian civilians to evacuate the northern Gaza Strip where Israel is focusing its attack on what it said are Hamas hideouts and other installations.

‘Humanitarian catastrophe’

But Palestinians say nowhere is safe, with bombs also smashing homes in the south of the densely populated territory.

“A humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in front of our eyes,” said UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres. The UN Security Council plans to meet on Monday on the Israel-Gaza crisis, said diplomats.

Palestinian officials said about 50,000 people are taking shelter in the Gaza Shifa Hospital. 

Billionaire Elon Musk offered his SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network to support communications in Gaza for “internationally recognised aid organisations”. Israel responded that it will fight the move, saying Hamas will “use it for terrorist activities”.

Netanyahu, who met hostages’ families on Saturday, said contacts to secure their release will continue even during a ground offensive, and that military pressure on Hamas could help bring them home. 

Qatar-mediated negotiations between Israel and Hamas continued but at a far slower pace than before Friday’s escalation in Gaza, said a source briefed on the talks.

Hamas’ armed wing said its fighters battled Israeli troops in northeastern and central Gaza. “Al-Qassam Brigades and all Palestinian resistance forces are fully prepared to confront the aggression with full force and thwart the incursions,” it said.

Reuters