Israeli warplanes bombed Gaza repeatedly overnight ahead of a possible ground offensive to root out Hamas, while U.S. President Joe Biden described the Palestinian militant group's surprise assault on Israel as "sheer evil."

Israel said dozens of its fighter jets struck more than 200 targets in a neighborhood of Gaza City that it said had been used by Hamas to launch its unprecedented wave of attacks.

At least 30 people were killed and hundreds wounded as Israel pounded the Gaza Strip with hundreds of air strikes overnight, a Hamas government official said.

Dozens of residential buildings, factories, mosques and shops were hit, the head of the government's media office, Salama Marouf, told reporters. 

READ MORE

Israel-Palestine conflict: Rafah crossing hit amid mounting death toll

Israel places Gaza Strip under total siege where 'no place is safe'

Wider conflict could 'erupt' in region following Israel attacks

The Israeli military confirmed fighter jets destroyed "advanced detection systems" that Hamas used to spot military aircraft.

They also hit 80 Hamas targets in the Beit Hanoun area of the northeastern Gaza Strip, including two bank branches used by the group to "fund terrorism" in the enclave, the military said.

Air strikes also hit a weapons storage facility, and an operational command center used by the group, it added.

Israeli fighter jets struck the Islamic University in Gaza City, a journalist and an official with the Hamas-linked institution said.

Israeli troops have killed at least 1,000 Hamas fighters who infiltrated from Gaza in incursions that began at the weekend, and have reinforced all communities in Israel as hostilities spread to other fronts, the military said.

'Extremely heavy casualties'

Gaza's health ministry said at least 1055 people have been killed and another 5,184 injured in the crowded coastal enclave since Saturday, when Hamas fighters rampaged through parts of southern Israel in the deadliest Palestinian militant attack in Israel's history. 

Israel's military said the death toll in Israel has reached 1,200 and more than 2,700 people have been wounded.

"We have sustained extremely heavy casualties," military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus said in a video briefing on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The victims were overwhelmingly civilians, gunned down in homes, on streets or at an outdoor dance party. Scores of Israelis and others from abroad were captured and taken to Gaza as hostages, some shown on social media being paraded through the streets.

Former Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal called for protests across the Arab world on Friday in support of the Palestinians, in a recorded statement. 

In mosques, football stadiums and towns across the Arab world, pro-Palestinian sentiment has surged after the shock Hamas attack on Israel, sparking a groundswell of solidarity for the Palestinians.

'Resistance' to Israel's occupation

From Ramallah to Beirut, Amman, Damascus, Baghdad and Cairo, people have distributed sweets, danced and chanted prayers in support of "resistance" to Israel's long-standing occupation of Palestinian territories.

"My entire life, I have seen Israel kill us, confiscate our lands and arrest our children," said Farah al-Saadi, a 52-year-old coffee vendor from Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

"I was pleased by what Hamas did," said the man, whose son is in Israeli detention, adding however that he feared the scale of Israeli retaliation.

Dozens of people took to the streets of Ramallah, home to the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmud Abbas, to rally in support of Hamas.

Israel's Security Minister said he was stepping up the issuing of firearms to licensed citizens, predicting possible friction between the country's Arab minority and majority Jews.

Hamas fighters holding Israeli soldiers and civilians hostage threatened to execute a captive for each home in Gaza hit without warning, but there was no indication they had done so.

'We will also come from the ground'

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, speaking to soldiers near the Gaza fence, said: "Hamas wanted a change and it will get one. What was in Gaza will no longer be.

"We started the offensive from the air, later on we will also come from the ground. We've been controlling the area since Day Two and we are on the offensive. It will only intensify."

A ground offensive carries risks for Israel, notably to the lives of many hostages held in the narrow, densely populated Gaza Strip which is tightly controlled by Hamas. Washington said it was talking to Israel and Egypt about the idea of safe passage for civilians from Gaza, now under total blockade.

The U.S. also confirmed it has no evidence of direct Iranian involvement in the devastating attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said. The assessment was echoed by the U.S. State Department, although it emphasized however that this could change.

Israel withdrew troops from Gaza in 2005 after 38 years of occupation, and has kept it under blockade since Hamas seized power there in 2007. 

Strikes exchanged with Lebanon and Syria

On Israel's northern border, a salvo of rockets was fired from southern Lebanon towards Israel, prompting Israeli shelling in return, three security sources said. 

More shells launched from Syrian territory landed in open areas in Israel, further raising fears that the violence could lead to a wider war.

"We do not yet know if these rockets were fired by the Syrian armed forces, by any of the many Iranian militias that exist and are welcomed by the Syrian regime, or Hezbollah or any other action," said Israel's Lieutenant Colonel Conricus. 

"What we do know is that we retaliated fire toward the sources of fire, and currently the situation there is quiet," he added.

Sirens warning of incoming rocket fire blared overnight in Israeli communities near the Gaza border.

An exchange of fire between Israeli troops and holdout "Palestinian terrorists" killed three of the fighters in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, the army said.

Troops backed by helicopters and drones exchanged fire with "several fighters in the industrial zone of Ashkelon," several kilometers north of the Gaza Strip, the army said

At least 169 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the fighting with Hamas, the army said.

"As of this morning, we've informed the families of 169 fallen IDF (army) soldiers," military spokesman Daniel Hagari told reporters, adding that the families of 60 people abducted and taken to Gaza have also been contacted.

'Europe stands with Israel'

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Hamas's killing of Israeli civilians was a cold-blooded act of war and reflected an "ancient evil."

"We have to be clear in defining this kind of horror," she said. "And there can only be one response to it. Europe stands with Israel. And we fully support Israel's right to defend itself." 

Addressing the start of a meeting of European commissioners, von der Leyen also supported a full review of the EU's multi-million-euro financial support for Palestinian projects.

Over 260,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in the Gaza Strip, as heavy Israeli bombardments from the air, land and sea continue to hit the Palestinian enclave, the United Nations said.

"Over 263,934 people in Gaza are believed to have fled their homes," said UN humanitarian agency OCHA in an update, warning that "this number is expected to rise further."

It said that around 3,000 people had been displaced "due to previous escalations," prior to Saturday.

The bombing campaign has destroyed more than 1,000 housing units, and 560 have been so severely damaged they are uninhabitable, OCHA said, citing Palestinian authorities.

'Highest number of people displaced'

Among the displaced, nearly 175,500 people sought shelter in 88 schools run by the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, it said.

More than 14,500 others had fled to 12 government schools, while close to 74,000 were estimated to be staying with relatives and neighbors or seeking shelters in churches and other facilities.

The number of displaced people inside of Gaza "represents the highest number of people displaced since the 50-day escalation of hostilities in 2014," it said.

"Meeting basic needs is becoming increasingly challenging for those who have not been displaced," OCHA warned.

Israel has imposed what it called a "complete siege" on the already blockaded Gaza Strip, cutting off food, water, fuel and electricity - a move that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned would worsen an already dire humanitarian situation. 

Pope Francis for the immediate release of hostages taken in fighting between Hamas and Israel, and expressed his concern over the siege of Gaza.

Meanwhile, China is seeking to work with Egypt to help ease the Israel-Hamas conflict, its Middle East envoy has said as he urged a ceasefire.

Zhai Jun spoke by phone with Egypt's assistant minister for the Palestinian territories.

"China is willing to maintain communication and coordination with Egypt, push both parties of the conflict to cease fire and stop violence as soon as possible," Zhai said.

He also urged "the international community to form a joint force and provide humanitarian support to the Palestinian people."

Rafah border remains shut

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said the escalation in Gaza was "highly dangerous" and that Egypt was pursuing a negotiated solution to the violence with regional and international partners. 

Egypt would not allow the issue to be settled at the expense of others, Sisi said in comments reported by state news agency MENA, an apparent reference to the risk that Palestinians could be pushed into Sinai.

The Rafah border crossing remained shut, after Egyptian military planes conducted flights nearby overnight, security sources said. The military has also taken up new positions close to the border, running patrols to monitor the area, said Ahmed Salem of the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights. 

Rafah is the sole possible crossing point into Sinai for Gaza's 2.3 million residents. The rest of the densely populated strip is surrounded by the sea, and by Israel, which has announced a total siege of Gaza and could launch a ground offensive. 

The passage of people and goods in and out of Gaza is strictly controlled under a blockade enforced by Egypt and Israel.

International medical NGOs issued a stark warning over the health and humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. The groups called for a humanitarian corridor to support medical relief efforts, and respect for humanitarian law.

Subscribe to Storyboard: A weekly newsletter bringing you the best of CGTN every Friday