The death toll in the Gaza Strip as a result of Israeli shelling and bombing has exceeded 8,000, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Since the beginning of the armed conflict between Israel and Palestine in Gaza on October 7, the number of wounded people has reached 19,000.  

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that the country's war cabinet and political cabinet "unanimously decided to expand the ground operation" in the Gaza Strip. In a press conference joined by other senior officials in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu said Israel is now "heading into the second stage of the war," during which his country will try to achieve its target of "destruction of Hamas's military and governing capabilities, and returning the hostages home."