Israel’s military will “continue and intensify” its ground operation in Gaza, a spokesperson said in a news conference on Tuesday.
The news comes after a week of bombings along the Gaza Strip saw it being cut off from much of the world, being plunged into darkness. The Israeli military also said it had hit targets that belonged to the Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
Several bombs have hit as close as 200 feet from Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City, where thousands are sheltering in place despite an evacuation order.
Over 1 million people have been displaced in Gaza, where Palestinian health officials say over 8,000 people have died. In the Russian-owned Muslim region of Dagestan, hundreds of protesters stormed an airport in search of anyone who may be Jewish.
“The events in Makhachkala reflect the deep-rooted anti-Semitism of Russian elites and society,” Oleg Nikolenko, Ukraine Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, wrote on Facebook. “Threats to exterminate the Jews are the result of the work of Russian state propaganda, which for decades cultivated among Russians feelings of hatred for other peoples. Let’s recall that not so long ago, President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov made offensive anti-Semitic statements.”
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak called the events in Makhachkala “the absolutely Russian story with an inevitable crisis-ridden future.”
Israel said it freed a hostage during the ground operation in Gaza Monday, saying the hostage was medically examined and found to be in good condition. The person was later identified as Private Ori Megidish.
