STORY: Netanyahu says ground operation expansion necessary for hostage release following truce talks collapse
SHOOTING TIME: Dec. 2, 2023
DATELINE: Dec. 3, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:30
LOCATION: GAZA
CATEGORY: MILITARY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Israel Defense Forces launching ground operation in Gaza Strip
2. various of the IDF airstrike in Gaza

STORYLINE:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that freeing hostages in Gaza would be "impossible" without continuing Israel's deadly ground operation, after pulling his team from talks in Qatar on a ceasefire with Hamas.

Before the seven-day ceasefire collapsed on Friday, 110 hostages were released, including 24 foreign nationals, while an estimated total of about 135 people are still being held by Hamas and other militants in Gaza, according to Netanyahu.

He said he had instructed the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to resume fighting "with ever-increasing intensity." 

Over the day, Israel attacked more than 400 locations, and "an extensive airstrike" targeted Khan Yunis in the southern enclave, previously considered a "safe zone," as well as Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip and other locations.

The Hamas-run government said on Saturday that Israel has attacked the war-torn Gaza Strip with approximately 100,000 bombs and rockets since October 7.

A total of 15,200 people have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of the conflict, 75 percent of them being children, women and the elderly, according to the Gaza-based Health Ministry. Israeli authorities said about 1,200 people were killed on the Israeli side, mostly during the Hamas surprise attack.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Gaza.
(XHTV)