TRANSCRIPT
Israel is continuing its bombing of the Gaza Strip from the air in its attempt to wipe out Hamas.
The number of casualties continues to grow, with the Hamas controlled local health ministry reporting over 7,650 people have lost their lives.
It says 60 per cent of them being women and children.
The air strikes have shut down all phone lines in the area, leaving residents cut off from the rest of the world.
The C-E-O of the Egyptian Red Crescent Rami al-Nazer says cutting communications hinders the abilities of humanitarian organisations inside Gaza.
"Everyone (ICRC and IFRC representatives) has expressed their strong resentment of what is happening regarding the violations towards civilians and the targeting of Medical workers and humanitarian organizations in addition to cutting communications that hinders the abilities of the Palestinian Red Crescent and other humanitarian partners inside the Gaza strip to do their role in the relief of affected people and treating injured."
Asked about the cutting of phone and internet access, Israel's chief military spokesman Daniel Hagari says the military will do what it needs to protect its forces.
"Regarding your question about communications, we do what we have to do to secure our forces for as long as we must, temporary or permanent, as much as we need to, and we will not say anything further about that."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country's forces have begun the second phase of the war in Gaza as they pressed ground operations against Hamas militants and has vowed to destroy his nation's enemy both above and below the ground.
Mr Netanyahu has warned that the war will be long and hard and has reiterated Israel's appeal to Palestinian civilians to evacuate the northern Gaza Strip where Israel is focusing its operations.
He has vowed that every effort will be made to rescue the more than 200 hostages taken by Hamas during the October 7 raids.
"The war inside the (Gaza) Strip will be long and difficult, and we are ready for it. This is our second war for independence. We will fight for our native land, we will fight and won't back down. We will fight on the ground, in the sea and air. We will eliminate the enemy on the ground and under the ground. We will fight and we will win. It will be the victory of good over bad, of light over darkness, of life over death."
The United Nations Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Turk has stated that the Israeli bombing of Gaza over the last 24 hours had taken the crisis to a new level of violence and pain.
Mr Turk has highlighted Israel's bombing of the telecommunications infrastructure stating that it places the civilian population in grave danger.
"Israeli strikes and telecommunications installations and subsequent internet shutdown have effectively left Gazans with no way of knowing what is happening across Gaza and cut them off from the outside world. We remind all parties of their obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law."
Meanwhile, Israeli foreign affairs minister Eli Cohen has ordered the immediate return of all of his country's Turkish diplomats following statements made by the nation's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a pro-Palestinian rally in Istanbul.
In an hour-long speech during a rally in Istanbul which was attended by hundreds of thousands of people, President Erdogan repeated his claim that Hamas is not a terrorist organisation and described Israel as the occupier.
“Just as Netanyahu is a terrorist, (the opposition says) Hamas is a terrorist organisation as well. Shame on you. Israel, we will declare you as a war criminal to the world. Right now, we are making preparations for this.”
Major pro-Palestinian rallies have also taken place in other major cities across Europe, including Rome, Marseille and London.
Tens of thousands of protesters turned out on London’s streets for a second straight weekend to demand a ceasefire.
Fireworks and red and green flares were lit as huge crowds massed on the banks of the River Thames.
