Israel to continue ground operations in Gaza until 'we achieve all our goals', Netanyahu says

As Israel resumes its bombardment of Gaza, fears grow for Palestinian civilians and the more than 100 Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas in the Strip

  • Israel will continue ground operations after it resumed airstrikes in Gaza, with the military saying it hit hundreds of Hamas targets.

  • The UK says it will conduct surveillance flights over Israel and Gaza to help locate Hamas hostages.

  • The death toll in Gaza has now surpassed 15,200, the Hamas-run health ministry said on Saturday, with 70% reported to be women and children.

  • Ceasefire talks have collapsed after Israel pulled its negotiators from Qatar, blaming Hamas for not fulfilling 'its part in the agreement'.

  • The first aid trucks since the ceasefire ended have been permitted to enter Gaza, said the Palestinian Red Crescent, but officials continue to sound the alarm over the worsening humanitarian situation.

Israel will continue ground operations in Gaza until all of its goals are achieved, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said as it resumed pounding of hundreds of targets in the strip.

"We will continue the war until we achieve all our goals, and we can’t achieve these goals without the ground maneuvering," Netanyahu said on Saturday.

"There are no other ways to achieve these goals but to win, and there is no way to win other than ground maneuvering." 

He added Israel's goals are freeing hostages, eradicating Hamas and preventing a "regime of terror" in the enclave.

Following the end of a seven-day truce for hostage and detainee exchanges, Israel launched numerous airstrikes on the crowded southern half of the Gaza Strip. The military said it had hit more than 400 Hamas targets over the past 24 hours.

At least 200 Palestinians have been killed since the fighting resumed on Friday morning following a week-long truce with Hamas, according to the health ministry in Gaza.

Israel confirmed it has recalled its team of negotiators from Qatar after reaching a "dead end" in talks, blaming Hamas for the breakdown, a statement released by Netanyahu's office said.

“The Hamas terror organisation did not fulfill its part in the agreement, which included the return of all women and children held hostage, in accordance with a list sent to Hamas and approved by them,” the statement read.

Gazan's told to evacuate as week-long ceasefire comes to end

The Israeli military published an online map carving up the Gaza Strip into hundreds of numbered parcels and asked residents to familiarize themselves with the number of their location ahead of evacuation warnings.

On Saturday, the military listed more than two dozen parcel numbers in areas around Gaza City in the north and east of Khan Younis. Separately, it dropped leaflets with evacuation orders over towns east of Khan Younis.

Meanwhile, the Hamas-run health ministry said the number of Palestinians killed since Hamas launched its fatal attack on Israel on October 7 has now risen to above 15,200.

It said 70% of those killed were women and children and more than 40,000 people were wounded over the past two months.

It marks a sharp jump from the previous count of more than 13,300. The ministry had stopped issuing daily updates of the overall toll on November 11, following war-related disruptions of connectivity and hospital operations.

The US, European leaders and the United Nations have urgently called on both sides to resume efforts to restore a ceasefire. The US - Israel's closest ally - particularly called on Israel to do more to protect Palestinian civilians.

Airstrikes continued on Gaza as the ceasefire talks fell through between Israel and Hamas. Credit: AP

After the release of 106 hostages over the past week, the renewed hostilities have heightened concerns for the remaining 136 people the Israeli military say are still being held by Hamas.

UK to conduct flights over Gaza to locate Hamas hostages

Meanwhile, the UK says it will conduct surveillance flights over Israel and Gaza to help locate Hamas hostages.

The Ministry of Defence said the surveillance aircraft "will be unarmed, do not have a combat role, and will be tasked solely to locate hostages".

"Only information relating to hostage rescue will be passed to the relevant authorities responsible for hostage rescue."

Aid trucks enter Gaza as fighting resumes

The Palestinian Red Crescent said it had received the first convoy of aid trucks through the Rafah crossing since fighting resumed.

Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority, said a convoy of 100 trucks entered Gaza, including three carrying 150,000 liters of fuel.

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