Israel-Hamas war: Netanyahu announces launch of second stage of Gaza assault, says war is going to be 'long'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said fighting inside the Gaza Strip will be "long and difficult," with Israeli ground forces now operating in the Palestinian territory for more than 24 hours.

"The war in the [Gaza] Strip will be long and difficult and we are prepared for it," Netanyahu told a news conference after meeting families of hostages held in Gaza.

Netanyahu said the ground operation launched by Israeli troops in Gaza was the "second stage" in a war against the Islamist group Hamas, and defeating Hamas is an "existential test" for Israel. He also called on the civilian population of Gaza to move to safe areas.

"This is the second stage of the war whose goals are clear: destroying the military and leadership capabilities of Hamas, and bringing the hostages back home," the Israeli leader declared. 

According to the prime minister, contacts to secure the release of hostages are continuing even during the ground offensive, and every effort would be made to rescue the more than 200 hostages held by Hamas.

Netanyahu said the idea of a swap deal of hostages for Palestinian prisoners had been discussed within the Israeli war cabinet. But he declined to elaborate, saying revealing any details would be counterproductive. 

He also accused Hamas of using hospitals as command centers and said that "90%" of the Hamas military budget comes from Iran.

Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by not only Israel, but also the US, Germany and others. 

World must not tolerate 'catastrophic failing' in Gaza, says ICRC president

Mirjana Spoljaric, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), condemned the humanitarian situation in Gaza, saying it was an "intolerable level of human suffering."

Mllions in the besieged strip are either sleeping in makeshift shelters or out in the open, with little food and water, the ICRC said.

"This is a catastrophic failing that the world must not tolerate," Spoljaric said, adding that it was "unacceptable that civilians have no safe place to go in Gaza amid the massive bombardments."

Israel launched airstrikes against Hamas in response to Hamas terrorist attacks on Israeli soil on October 7.

Communications and the internet have been completely cut off in Gaza since late Friday evening as Israel ramped up airstrikes amid an "expanding" ground operation. 

"In the face of this dramatic armed conflict, what is critically needed now is adherence to international humanitarian law by all parties," Spoljaric said.

Internet slowly coming back in Gaza, Netblocks says

Internet observatory Netblocks said early Sunday that internet service in Gaza is slowly being restored, according to real-time network data. 

Internet connectivity was cut off on Friday in most of Gaza, as Israel ramped up its bombardments and ground campaign towards Hamas.