Israel prepares for possible ground assault in Gaza strip

Smoke plumes billow during Israeli air strikes in Gaza City. Pic/AP

Palestinians lined up outside bakeries and grocery stores in Gaza on Thursday after spending the night surrounded by the ruins of pulverized neighbourhoods darkened by a near-total power outage. Israel launched new airstrikes and said it was preparing for a possible ground invasion.

International aid groups warned that the death toll in Gaza could mount after Israel stopped all deliveries of food, water, fuel and electricity and the tiny enclave's crossing with Egypt closed. The war - which was ignited by a bloody and wide-ranging assault on Israel by Hamas militants - has already claimed at least 2,500 lives on both sides.

Palestinian search the rubble of destroyed buildings. Pic/AP

Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an Israeli military spokesman, said forces "are preparing for a ground manoeuvre if decided," but that political leaders have not yet ordered one. A ground offensive in Gaza, whose 2.3 million residents are densely packed into a sliver of land only 40-km-long, would likely bring even higher casualties on both sides in brutal house-to-house fighting. Hamas fighters have fired thousands of rockets into Israel since their weekend assault and are also holding an estimated 150 people hostage.

Also read: No fare for Indians flying out of Israel

US Secretary of State in Israel

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv on Thursday to meet with PM Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders. He gave no public comments before getting into a vehicle to leave. Blinken will also meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan's King Abdullah II in Amman on Friday.

Presidents of Syria, Iran with Palestine

The presidents of Iran and Syria have discussed by telephone the situation in the Gaza Strip, expressing both countries' support for the Palestinian people. Syria's state news agency SANA reported that Syria's Bashar Assad and Iran's Ebrahim Raisi said they stand behind the Palestinian people who are "being subjected to crimes and have the right to resist."

X takes down Hamas- linked accounts

Elon Musk's social media platform X has removed hundreds of Hamas-linked accounts and taken down or labelled thousands of pieces since the militant group's attack on Israel, according to the CEO of the company. Linda Yaccarino on Thursday outlined efforts by X to get a handle on illegal content flourishing on the platform. She was responding to a demand from a top European Union official for information on how X is complying with the EU's tough new digital rules.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever