Israel bombards Gaza as war spreads to other fronts

Reuters:

GAZA/JERUSALEM, Oct 23 – Israel bombarded Gaza with more air strikes on Monday ahead of an anticipated ground operation into the besieged Palestinian enclave as the United Nations warned that civilians were running out of places to seek shelter.

In signs that the conflict was spreading, Israeli aircraft also struck southern Lebanon overnight and Israeli troops clashed with Palestinians in occupied West Bank, residents said.

More aid crossed the border into Gaza on Sunday but the U.N. humanitarian agency said it was just a fraction of the amount needed to help a desperate population short of food, water, medicine and fuel.

Health authorities in Gaza said at least 4,600 people have died in Israel’s two-week bombardment after an assault on Oct. 7 by Hamas militants on southern Israeli communities in which 1,400 people were killed and 212 taken as hostages.

The Israeli military said on Monday morning that in the past 24 hours it had struck more than 320 targets in Gaza, including a tunnel housing Hamas fighters, and dozens of command and lookout posts.

It said in a statement that it destroyed sites “liable to endanger the troops who are preparing on the Gaza periphery for a ground manoeuvre” as well as dozens of mortar and anti-tank missile launcher positions.

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Palestinian media reported that the Israeli attacks concentrated on the Gaza Strip’s centre and north.

A strike on a house near the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza killed several Palestinians and wounded others, according to media reports.