Russia has issued a warning that the conflict may extend outside of the Middle East, while Israel bombarded the Gaza Strip in preparation for a ground invasion.
As the number of civilian casualties increased, people in besieged Gaza buried their dead in mass graves and humanitarian supplies were critically low due to the inability of international powers to agree on a pause in fighting to deliver aid.
The military said that ground forces attacked several targets in the Hamas-ruled enclave on Thursday before withdrawing, in what Army Radio described as the biggest incursion of the current war. This was a sign that Israel was expanding its assaults into Gaza, which started over the weekend.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the conflict could spread beyond the Middle East and said it was wrong that innocent women, children and old people in Gaza were being punished for other people’s crimes.
Gaza’s war has already sparked conflict beyond the Palestinian territories.
Israeli warplanes struck Syrian Army infrastructure on Wednesday in response to rockets fired from Syria, an ally of Iran.
Israel has also targeted Syria’s Aleppo airport and Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
As the death toll mounts in Gaza, Palestinians are burying the unidentified dead in mass graves, with a number instead of a name, residents say.
Some families are using bracelets in the hope of finding their loved ones should they be killed.
Israeli strikes have killed over 6,500 people, the Health Ministry in Gaza has said on Wednesday.
