Israel says Hamas war has ‘entered new phase’

Israel said on Saturday its war with Hamas had “entered a new phase” as the army relentlessly pounded Gaza three weeks into a conflict sparked by the deadliest attack in the country’s history.

The United Nations warned thousands more civilians could die as Israel escalated ground operations in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory, where rescuers said fierce overnight bombardment destroyed hundreds of buildings.

Israel unleashed its bombing campaign after Hamas gunmen stormed across the Gaza border on October 7, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and seizing more than 220 hostages, according to Israeli officials.

The Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza said Israeli strikes had killed 7,703 people, mainly civilians, with more than 3,500 of them children.

The conflict is the fifth and deadliest in Gaza since Israel unilaterally withdrew troops and settlers from the Palestinian territory in 2005.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk warned of “the possibly catastrophic consequences of large-scale ground operations in Gaza”, saying “thousands more civilians” could die.

The intense Israeli strikes against Hamas, the Islamist group that has ruled Gaza since 2007, coincided with ground operations and came as tens of thousands of troops massed along the Gaza border ahead of an expected full-blown invasion.

Israeli forces also made limited ground incursions on Wednesday and Thursday.

“We’ve entered a new phase in the war,” Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said in a video on Saturday.

“Last night, the ground in Gaza shook. We attacked above the ground and below the ground. We attacked terror operatives of all ranks in every location.”

Gaza Civil Defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP “Hundreds of buildings and houses were destroyed and thousands of other homes were damaged.”

Witnesses said most of the bombing was concentrated in the Jabaliya district of northern Gaza.