Israel intensifies aerial strikes over Gaza, kills ‘terror operatives’. Top updates

Israel-Hamas war: Israel on Sunday said it killed "terror operatives" from Hamas and Islamic Jihad in an air strike on a mosque in the West Bank's Jenin.

The war between Israel and the Hamas militant group entered its 16th day on Sunday with over 4,000 people being killed on both sides. Israel has made its intention clear to step up the air and missile strikes on Gaza in preparation for the “next stage” of its military operation. Meanwhile, according to Gaza's health ministry, Israel's strikes - in response to Hamas' October 7 attack - have killed at least 4,385 Palestinians, including hundreds of children.

A view of residential buildings destroyed in Israeli strikes in Zahra City, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. (REUTERS)

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Here are the latest updates on the Israel-Hamas war:

1. An Israeli aircraft on Sunday struck a compound beneath a mosque in the occupied West Bank that the military said was being used by militants to organise attacks - killing at least one person and injuring three others. “The IDF & ISA just conducted an aerial strike on a Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist compound in the Al-Ansar Mosque in Jenin. Recent IDF intel revealed that the Mosque was used as a command center to plan and execute terrorist attacks against civilians,” the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
2. On Saturday, Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari called on Gazans to move south out of harm's way. “For your own safety move southward. We will continue to attack in the area of Gaza City and increase attacks,” he said while speaking to the media, as quoted by Reuters.
3. Israeli aircraft dropped leaflets on Gaza City on Saturday, reiterating previous requests that all civilian residents there evacuate to the southern area of the Gaza Strip. Reportedly, the leaflet note read: “Whoever chooses not to evacuate would likely be designated as a member of a terrorist organisation.”
4. The IDF on Saturday night said that it has detected 550 failed rocket launches and misfires since the beginning of the Gaza war. “The terrorist organisation Hamas uses the residents of the Gaza Strip as human shields and fires from civilian infrastructure. Since the beginning of the fighting, the IDF has detected about 550 failed launches fired from the Gaza Strip,” it said.
5. The Israeli military also released footage of rocket barrages being launched from Gaza, in which several rockets could be seen crashing into the Gaza Strip.
6. The United States has proposed a draft UN Security Council resolution that says Israel has a right to defend itself, and demands Iran stop exporting arms to “militias and terrorist groups threatening peace and security across the region.”
7. Food and medical supplies began crossing into Gaza from Egypt on Saturday for the first since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7. According to the United Nations, the 20-truck convoy included life-saving supplies that would be received by the Palestinian Red Crescent.
8. However, according to the U.N. Humanitarian Office (OCHA), the volume of goods that entered Gaza on Saturday was equivalent to about four percent of the daily average of imports prior to the hostilities, and only a fraction of what was needed after 13 days of siege of an enclave that is home to 2.3 million people, reported Reuters.
9. A spokesperson for the armed wing of Hamas Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades claimed that while they intended to release two more hostages for "humanitarian reasons", Israel declined to receive them. Meanwhile, Israel called the claim ‘propaganda’. “We will not refer to false propaganda by Hamas…We will continue to act in every way to return all the kidnapped and missing people home,” Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said.
10. Several Arab officials during a crisis summit in Cairo, Egypt, reiterated calls for de-escalation as Israel continues its airstrikes on Gaza and prepares for a ground offensive.

(With inputs from agencies)