Israel strikes outskirts of Gaza City during second ground raid in as many days

Israel carries out ground raid in Gaza Strip, US strikes targets in Syria linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard. Palestinian death toll exceeds 7,000, 1,400 in Israel slain. Airstrikes flatten neighbourhoods, 1M flee homes. US sends warplanes, ships to region to deter Iran, aid convoys enter Gaza but meet only tiny fraction of needs.

Israeli forces backed by fighter jets and drones carried out a second ground raid into Gaza in as many days and struck targets on the outskirts of Gaza City, the military said on October 27, as it prepares for a widely expected ground invasion of the Hamas-ruled territory.

U.S. warplanes meanwhile struck targets in eastern Syria that the Pentagon said were linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard after a string of attacks on US forces by Iran-backed fighters, adding to the already high regional tensions fueled by the three-week-old Gaza war.

The Palestinian death toll has soared past 7,000 as Israel has carried out waves of devastating airstrikes in response to a bloody Hamas incursion into southern Israel on Oct 7. The Health Ministry in Gaza, which tracks the toll, released a detailed list of names and ID numbers on Thursday. The toll includes more than 2,900 minors and more than 1,500 women.

Also read: Israel-Hamas war, Day 21 LIVE updates | October 27, 2023

The overall number of deaths far exceeds the combined toll of all four previous wars between Israel and Hamas, estimated at around 4,000.

More than 1,400 people in Israel, mostly civilians, were slain during the initial Hamas attack, according to the Israeli government. Hamas is holding at least 229 captives inside Gaza, including men, women, children and older adults.

The airstrikes have flattened entire neighborhoods, causing a level of death and destruction unseen in the last four wars between Israel and Hamas. Over a million people have fled their homes, with many heeding Israeli orders to evacuate to the south, despite continuing Israeli strikes across the sealed-off territory.