The Israel-Hamas war entered its 200th day on Tuesday with fears mounting of an Israeli invasion in the overcrowded south of the besieged Gaza Strip amid calls for hostages to be freed.
Palestinian group Hamas on Sunday defended its October 7 attacks against Israel but admitted to "faults" and called for an end to "Israeli aggression" in Gaza, where the health ministry said the death count passed 25,000.
Israel pounded targets across the Gaza Strip on Saturday while its planes dropped leaflets on the southern area of Rafah urging Palestinians seeking refuge there to help locate hostages held by Hamas, residents said.
Israel s war with Hamas in Gaza resumed after a brief pause for hostage exchange, with reports suggesting that Israel had obtained knowledge of the attack from a year before it crystallized.