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Israeli forces carried out fresh airstrikes Wednesday in the Gaza Strip, a day after comments from Israeli officials about expanding ground fighting sparked concern from the United Nations about the safety of civilians.
Wednesday's fighting included Israeli ground operations and airstrikes in Gaza City, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip where Israel initially focused its campaign to eliminate the Hamas militant group
After moving south to the Khan Younis area, Israeli officials this week have signaled a push into parts of central Gaza, including areas home to multiple refugee camps.
Much of Gaza's population has been forced from their homes by the fighting, with people crowding into overburdened shelters and scrambling to exit areas after Israel warns of impending military action. Humanitarian aid deliveries have also been limited by the violence, leaving shortages of food, water and fuel.
"There are no shortcuts in dismantling a terrorist organization," Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi said Tuesday, referring to Hamas. He said the war would go on "for many months."
The expansion of fighting in central Gaza prompted the United Nations Tuesday to voice alarm over Israeli attacks that killed more than 100 Palestinians in the span of two days this week.
"We are gravely concerned about the continued bombardment of Middle Gaza by Israeli forces, which has claimed more than 100 Palestinian lives since Christmas Eve," U.N. human rights office spokesperson Seif Magango said Tuesday.
The World Health Organization said its teams have undertaken "high-risk missions to deliver supplies, with partners, to hospitals in northern and southern Gaza. A statement issued Wednesday said the WHO teams witnessed "intense hostilities in their vicinity, high patient loads and overcrowding caused by people displaced by the conflict seeking refuge."
"Today I repeat my call on the international community to take urgent steps to alleviate the grave peril facing the population of Gaza and jeopardizing the ability of humanitarian workers to help people with terrible injuries, acute hunger, and at severe risk of disease," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Residents on Wednesday reported airstrikes and shelling in the areas of the Nuseirat, Maghazi and Bureij refugee camps in central Gaza.
Radwan Abu Sheitta, who lives in Bureij, told The Associated Press by phone, "The bombing was very intense."
The White House Wednesday welcomed the appointment this week of Sigrid Kaag as United Nations senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza.
"We welcome Ms. Kaag's leadership and look forward to working together closely to increase the flow of aid into Gaza, and ensure safety and security for the aid delivery and the humanitarian staff providing the life-saving support to those in need," said a statement from national security advisor Jake Sullivan.
Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Tuesday with the Israeli minister for strategic affairs, Ron Dermer. A White House official said Sullivan and Dermer discussed transitioning to a different phase of the war to focus on high-value Hamas targets, and planning for the day after fighting ends, including governance and security in Gaza.
On October 7, Hamas militants poured over the border with Israel and attacked southern Israeli communities, killing about 1,200 people, according to Israel. Hamas, designated a terrorist group by the United States and others, also seized around 240 hostages, of whom 129 remain in Gaza.
In response, Israel vowed to crush Hamas and launched an air, land and sea attack on Gaza. The Israeli offensive has left vast parts of Gaza in ruins and killed nearly 21,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry.
The fighting has also displaced most of Gaza's 2.3 million people, with many trying to find safety in overcrowded, U.N.-run shelters in southern Gaza.
The Israeli army said Tuesday that 158 Israeli soldiers have been killed inside Gaza since fighting began in October.
Some material for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.