DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli ground forces attacked Hamas militants and infrastructure on Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023 in northern Gaza, which the military said some 800,000 people have fled since the war began more than three weeks ago, even as warplanes continued to strike from end to end of the sealed-off territory.
Buoyed by the first successful rescue of a captive held by Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected calls for a cease-fire and again vowed to crush the militant group’s ability to govern Gaza or threaten Israel following its bloody Oct. 7 rampage, which ignited the war. The military said one of the estimated 240 captives seized by Palestinian militants during the wide-ranging assault was rescued in a special forces operation, lending support to Netanyahu’s contention that the ground war will help facilitate the recovery of more hostages rather than putting them in increased danger. The army said Pvt. Ori Megidish, 19, was “doing well” and had been reunited with her family.
Hamas has released four hostages, and has said it would let the others go in return for thousands of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, which has dismissed the offer. Hamas released a short video Monday showing three other female captives.
More than half the territory’s 2.3 million Palestinians have fled their homes, with hundreds of thousands sheltering in packed U.N.-run schools-turned-shelters or in hospitals alongside thousands of wounded patients. Israeli strikes have hit closer to several northern hospitals in recent days, alarming medics. The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, says nearly 672,000 Palestinians are sheltering in its schools and other facilities, which have reached four times their capacity. Thousands of people broke into its aid warehouses over the weekend to take food, as supplies of basic goods have dwindled.
There has been no central electricity in Gaza for weeks, and Israel has barred the entry of fuel needed to power emergency generators for hospitals and homes. UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini accused Israel of “collective punishment” of the Palestinians, and of forcing their displacement from northern Gaza to the south, where they are still not safe.
The military said it struck some 300 militant targets over the past day and that troops had engaged in several battles with Palestinian militants armed with antitank missiles and machine guns. Hamas’ military wing said it fired mortar rounds at Israel forces near a closed border crossing between Israel and Gaza in the southern end of the territory. It was not possible to independently confirm the reports.
The death toll among Palestinians passed 8,300, mostly women and children, the Gaza Health Ministry said Monday. The figure is without precedent in decades of Israeli-Palestinian violence.
More than 1.4 million people in Gaza have fled their homes.Over 1,400 people have died on the Israeli side, mainly civilians killed during Hamas’ initial attack, also an unprecedented figure. Palestinian militants have continued firing rockets into Israel.