Israeli warplanes struck targets across Gaza, two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by militants, as the two-week-old war with Hamas threatened to spiral overnight into a broader conflict.
Israel has traded fire with Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group since the war began, and tensions are soaring in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces have battled militants in refugee camps and carried out two airstrikes in recent days.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told troops in northern Israel that if Hezbollah launches a war, "it will make the mistake of its life".
"We will cripple it with a force it cannot even imagine and the consequences for it and the Lebanese state will be devastating."
For days, Israel has been on the verge of launching a ground offensive in Gaza following Hamas' deadly October 7 rampage, with tanks and troops massed at the border.
Israel's military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said the country had increased airstrikes across Gaza to hit targets that would reduce the risk to troops in the next stage of the war.
Hamas said it fought with Israeli forces near Khan Younis in southern Gaza and destroyed a tank and two bulldozers.
Hagari announced that a soldier was killed and three others wounded during a raid inside Gaza as part of efforts to rescue more than 200 hostages abducted in the October 7 attack.
He said the soldiers were hit by an anti-tank missile. It was not immediately known if the soldiers were inside Gaza at the time.
Over the weekend, 20 trucks entered Gaza in the first aid shipment into the territory since Israel imposed a complete siege two weeks ago. Israeli authorities said overnight they had allowed a second batch of aid into Gaza at the request of the United States.
COGAT, the Israeli defence body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said the aid included water, food and medical supplies and that everything was inspected by Israel before it was brought into Gaza.
UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, confirmed the arrival of 14 trucks.
Israel has not allowed any fuel to enter Gaza. Earlier Associated Press journalists saw seven fuel trucks head north from the border. But the United Nations and Israel said those trucks were taking fuel stored on the Gaza side of the crossing deeper into the territory, and that no fuel had entered from Egypt.
In a sign of how precarious any movement of aid remains, the Egyptian military said Israeli shelling hit a watchtower on Egypt's side of the border, causing light injuries.
The Israeli military apologised, saying a tank had accidentally fired and hit an Egyptian post, and the incident was being investigated.
Relief workers said far more aid was needed to address the spiralling humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where half the territory's 2.3 million people have fled their homes.
The UN humanitarian agency, known as OCHA, said the weekend's convoy carried about 4% of an average day's imports before the war and "a fraction of what is needed after 13 days of complete siege".
The Israeli military said the humanitarian situation was "under control", even as OCHA called for 100 trucks a day to enter.
Israel repeated its calls for people to leave northern Gaza, including by dropping leaflets from the air. It estimated 700,000 already fled. But hundreds of thousands remain. That would raise the risk of mass civilian casualties in any ground offensive.
Israeli military officials say Hamas' infrastructure and underground tunnel system are concentrated in Gaza City, in the north, and that the next stage of the offensive will include unprecedented force there. Israel says it wants to crush Hamas. Officials have also spoken of carving out a buffer zone to keep Palestinians from approaching the border, though they have given no details.
Hospitals packed with patients and displaced people are running low on medical supplies and fuel for generators, forcing doctors to perform surgeries with sewing needles, using vinegar as disinfectant, and without anaesthesia.
The World Health Organization says at least 130 premature babies are at "grave risk" because of a shortage of generator fuel.
It said seven hospitals in northern Gaza have been forced to shut down due to damage from strikes, lack of power and supplies, or Israeli evacuation orders.
Palestinians sheltering in UN-run schools and tent camps are running low on food and drinking dirty water. A power blackout has crippled water and sanitation systems. OCHA said cases of chickenpox, scabies and diarrhoea are on the rise because of the lack of clean water.
Heavy airstrikes were reported across Gaza, including in the southern part of the coastal strip, where Israel has told civilians to seek refuge.
Israel's military has said it is striking Hamas fighters and installations, and does not target civilians. Palestinian militants have fired over 7000 rockets at Israel, according to the military, and Hamas says it targeted Tel Aviv overnight.
More than 1400 people in Israel have been killed — mostly civilians slain during the initial Hamas attack. At least 212 people were captured and dragged back to Gaza.
More than 4600 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. That includes the disputed toll from a hospital explosion.
Syrian state media, meanwhile reported that Israeli airstrikes hit the international airports in the capital, Damascus, and the northern city of Aleppo, killing one person and putting the runways out of service.
Israel has carried out several strikes in Syria since the war began. Israel rarely acknowledges individual strikes, but says it acts to prevent Hezbollah and other militants from bringing in arms from Iran, which also supports Hamas.
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