GAZA: At least 30 Palestinians have been killed in early morning Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip, including five in the al-Mawasi area, a so-called “humanitarian zone” designated by Israel.

The attacks have intensified in northern Gaza City, with reports of explosions and heavy bombardment. Israeli forces also arrested three Palestinians near Hebron in the occupied West Bank.

The recent military actions have drawn international criticism. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that Israel’s expanding military operation “signals a new and dangerous phase” in the war, while condemning the situation as a “present-day catastrophe” of famine.

On the diplomatic front, Israel’s far-right Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, has called for the annexation of the Gaza Strip if Hamas does not disarm.

In a separate development, the UK government has barred Israeli officials from a London arms fair, a decision Israel’s Defense Ministry has publicly criticized as an act of “discrimination.”

Meanwhile, Israel’s military expressed regret for what it called a drone “malfunction” that killed two Lebanese soldiers in the Ras an-Naqoura area.

Overall, the conflict has resulted in the deaths of over 62,900 people in Gaza and 1,139 in Israel.