On Monday, Israel continued to pummel Gaza with airstrikes in preparation for a planned ground invasion into the Palestinian enclave, despite a U.N. warning that there were no longer any safe havens for people to go to.

According to locals, Israeli aircraft also attacked southern Lebanon overnight, while Israeli forces engaged in combat with Palestinians in the occupied West Bank amid indicators that the violence was escalating.

On Sunday, more supplies entered Gaza across the border. However, the U.N. Organization for Humanitarian Relief warned it was still far short of what is required to assist a desperate population lacking food, water, medication, and fuel.

Health officials in Gaza reported that at least 4,600 people had died from Israel’s two-week bombing after Hamas terrorists attacked southern Israeli villages on October 7, killing 1,400 people and kidnapping 212 others.

On Monday morning, the Israeli military reported that over 320 targets in Gaza had been hit in the previous 24 hours, including a tunnel holding Hamas fighters and many command and observation points.

According to a statement, it damaged facilities “liable to endanger the troops who are preparing on the Gaza periphery for a ground manoeuvre,” in addition to many mortar and anti-tank missile launcher positions.

Israeli assaults were reportedly centered in the north and center of the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian media.

According to media sources, an attack on a home close to the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza resulted in many Palestinians’ deaths and others’ injuries.

AWAITED GROUND ASSAULT

Israeli soldiers and tanks have gathered near the Israeli-Gaza border, but it is unclear when they will start a ground invasion to expel Hamas.

Eliav Benjamin, Israel’s deputy ambassador to the United States, said when asked in an interview with Army Radio if Washington had pressed Israel to delay doing that: “We and the U.S. administration have been in discussion from Day One.

They know we are carrying out the war in our best interests. We will take the necessary action when it is necessary.

The air assault has demolished large portions of Gaza.

About 1.4 million of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, according to the U.N. humanitarian agency (OCHA), are internally displaced, with many taking refuge in the organization’s overflowing emergency shelters.

To avoid becoming involved in the conflict, Israel has ordered Gazans to leave the northern part of the territory. However, according to OCHA’s anecdotal data, aerial bombardments in the south and a shortage of shelter have caused hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals who fled to return to the north.

Over the weekend, concerns that the Israel-Hamas confrontation may escalate into a larger Middle East battle increased as Washington warned about a serious threat to its regional interests and announced the deployment of more sophisticated air defenses.

In the bloodiest escalation of border warfare since an Israel-Hezbollah conflict in 2006, the Iran-backed Hezbollah organization has engaged in combat with Israeli soldiers along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon in support of Hamas.

DISSEMINATING VIOLENCE

According to the Israeli military, two Hezbollah cells in Lebanon that were preparing to fire rockets and anti-tank missiles toward Israel were targeted by Israeli aircraft early on Monday. A compound and an observation station were among the other Hezbollah targets that Israel’s military claimed to have been hit.

Without giving any information, Hezbollah said one of its militants was killed on Monday. Since the start of the most recent battle, seven troops have died on the Lebanese border, according to Israel’s military.

On Monday, the Palestinian health ministry said that two Palestinians were murdered in the West Bank in the Jalazone refugee camp close to Ramallah.

Residents of the area told Reuters that Israeli troops entered the camp and detained many people while squabbling with gunmen and some stone-throwing youngsters. Regarding the event, the Israeli army has not released a statement.

Chinese state media said on Monday that the region’s spillover conflicts were “worrisome” and that China’s Middle East special envoy, Zhai Jun, who is currently in the area, warned that the possibility of a significant ground battle was growing.

According to Iranian security sources, Iran’s strategy called for Middle East allies like Hezbollah to conduct modest attacks on Israeli and American targets while avoiding a significant escalation that would involve Tehran.

Mohammad Shtayyeh, the prime minister of Palestine, appealed for global cooperation to end Israel’s airstrikes on Gaza and allow relief to reach the region. On Sunday night, a second convoy of 14 relief trucks crossed the Rafah border from Egypt into Gaza.

According to the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Joe Biden agreed over the phone that aid would continue flowing into Gaza.

According to the U.N. humanitarian agency, the amount of supplies arriving thus far was just 4% of the daily average before the hostilities and a small portion of what was required. Fuel was not included in the relief packages.