Israel’s military intensified its bombing of southern Gaza overnight after one of the deadliest days for Palestinians since the conflict began as world leaders called for a halt to fighting to allow aid into the besieged enclave.
A total of 704 Palestinians, including 305 children, were killed on Tuesday, the Gaza Health Ministry in said, a toll the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said was the highest reported in a single day since the conflict began nearly three weeks ago.
In a statement released on social media, the Palestinian health ministry added that at least 5,791 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli bombardments on the enclave since Oct. 7, including 2,360 children.
Amid concerns the Israel-Hamas conflict will spread across the Middle East, Israel’s military said its jets struck Syrian army infrastructure and mortar launchers in response to rockets launched from Iran ally Syria.
The military did not provide further details. It did not accuse Syria’s army of firing the two rockets, which set off air raid sirens in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Citing a military source, Syrian state news agency said the Israeli attack killed 8 soldiers and wounded 7 more in an “aerial aggression” near the southwestern city of Deraa.
The United States and Russia are leading international calls for a pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas to allow aid into Gaza where Palestinians are living in harrowing conditions.
US President Joe Biden and Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke by phone on Tuesday and agreed on broader diplomacy “to maintain stability across the region and prevent the conflict from expanding,” the White House said.
Deadly clashes have intensified between the Israeli military and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, and resurged between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah armed group along the Israeli-Lebanon border.—Agencies
