On Saturday, Israel targeted locations in densely populated southern Gaza, escalating the death toll.

Additional neighborhoods earmarked for attack were instructed to evacuate, amplifying the urgency for civilian protection.

The United States and other nations called on Israel to enhance efforts to safeguard non-combatants, especially after a truce collapsed the day before.

The possibility of renewed cease-fires in Gaza seemed dim, with Israel withdrawing its negotiators and Hamas’ deputy leader stating that any further exchange of Gaza-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel would only occur as part of concluding the ongoing conflict.

“We will continue the war until we achieve all its goals, and it’s impossible to achieve those goals without the ground operation,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an address Saturday night.

After the resumption of fighting on Friday morning, at least 200 Palestinians were reported killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, the Associated Press reported.

The casualties occurred following a weeklong truce with the ruling militant group, Hamas. On Saturday, several multi-story residential buildings were struck, leading to extensive smoke in affected neighborhoods.

The military distributed leaflets urging the evacuation of approximately one-quarter of the Gaza Strip, encompassing areas with hundreds of thousands of residents, as confirmed by U.N. monitors.

Prior to the renewed hostilities, the United States had cautioned Israel to avoid significant new mass displacements, as reported by the AP.

In a separate update, the Health Ministry revealed that the overall death toll in Gaza, since the war’s commencement on October 7, had risen to over 15,200, a substantial increase from the previous count of over 13,300 on November 20.

The ministry does not distinguish between civilian and combatant casualties but noted that 70% of the deceased were women and children. Additionally, more than 40,000 people were reported wounded since the conflict began.

Written by B.C. Begley