GAZA STRIP (AFP) - Israel warned its war against Hamas will continue throughout 2024 as unrelenting strikes killed two dozen people in Gaza and the Palestinian militant group fired a rocket barrage at the stroke of midnight (Jan 1).
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a New Year's message that some of the 300,000 army reservists would get a break from the war, in order to prepare for the "prolonged fighting" ahead.
"We will be required for additional tasks and warfare throughout this year," Hagari said as the conflict sparked by the Oct 7 Hamas attacks raged on.
Heavy artillery fire again pounded the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, killing at least 24 people, health ministry officials there said, with attacks including air strikes reported across the length of the besieged territory.
"This New Year's Eve, there are only missiles and the remains of people," said 20-year-old Hamdan Abu Arab, expressing hope that "2024 will be better".
The Gaza health ministry said 15 dead bodies from the same family were recovered on Monday from the rubble of a bombed house in Jabalia, in the northern part of the territory.
"It's the worst year of our lives," Sami Hamouda, 64, told AFP. "Every new day is like the previous one: Bombings, death and mass killings."
Hamas marked the start of the year by firing a rocket barrage at Israel in what it called a "response to the massacres of civilians".
AFP journalists in Tel Aviv witnessed missile defence systems intercept rockets overhead as some revellers ran for cover and others kept up the party with a shrug.
"My heart was pounding," said one, Gabriel Zemelman, 26, shortly after the rocket fire. "It's terrifying."
The bloodiest ever Gaza war was triggered by Hamas's Oct 7 attacks on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of around 1,140 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
The militants also took around 250 people hostage that day, more than half of whom remain in Gaza, according to Israeli officials.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas and launched a punishing offensive that has reduced vast areas of Gaza to a ruined wasteland and killed at least 21,822 people, mostly women and children, according to the territory's health ministry.
The Israeli army says 172 of its soldiers have been killed inside Gaza in the battle against the Islamist militant group which Israel, the United States and European Union have designated a "terrorist" organisation.
"HOPELESS CONDITIONS"
Hagari said the Israeli army was "adapting the planning of the force deployment in Gaza" including reserve soldiers, as "the fighting will continue and they will still be required".
"Some of the reservists will return to their families and employment this week. This will significantly ease the burden on the economy and allow them to gather strength for the upcoming activities in the next year."
Since Israel imposed a siege at the outset of the war, Gazans have been facing dire shortages of food, water, fuel and medicine - eased only by aid trucks, about 120 of which entered on Sunday.
The UN says 85 per cent of the population of the Gaza Strip has been displaced.
"We are exhausted ... We were displaced five times during this war," said 29-year-old Bassam Hana.
"We hope things improve in 2024 and that we live just like any other human being."
Mostafa Shennar, a 43-year-old Palestinian displaced from Gaza City, told AFP in the southern border town of Rafah that "living conditions ... are just hopeless".
Shennar, a coffee vendor, complained of "soaring prices" that have slashed his income.
"I used to sell two large cups of coffee for one shekel (US$0.28)" - now the price of "one small cup", he said, "and even that is hard to obtain" for many Gazans.
International mediators have continued efforts toward a new pause in fighting.
A Hamas delegation from Qatar visited Cairo on Friday to discuss an Egyptian three-phase plan proposing renewable ceasefires, a staggered release of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, and ultimately an end to the war, sources close to Hamas said.
Their allies Islamic Jihad said on Saturday that Palestinian factions were evaluating the proposal and would give a response "within days".
REGIONAL FEARS
Violence has surged in the occupied West Bank, where more than 300 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers since October.
Israeli watchdog Yesh Din on Monday said 2023 was the "most violent" year on record for settler attacks in the territory, which Israel has occupied since 1967, "in both the number of incidents and their severity".
Two far-right Israeli ministers, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, have called since Sunday for the return of Jewish settlers to Gaza, from which Israel unilaterally withdrew in 2005.
Both said separately that Israel should "encourage" the territory's approximately 2.4 million Palestinians to emigrate.
The war in Gaza has also raised fears of a broader regional conflict, with hostilities flaring with mostly Iran-backed militant groups in nearby countries who say they are acting in support of Hamas.
Iranian news agency Tasnim said Monday the Alborz warship had entered the Red Sea, a globally important waterway where a US-led maritime coalition has deployed to stop attacks from Yemen's Tehran-backed Huthi rebels.
The US military said on Sunday that Navy helicopters had fired at rebel boats off Yemen that were attacking a cargo ship, with Yemeni sources reporting 10 rebels killed.
Late Sunday, the Israeli army said it had intercepted two "hostile aircraft" flying from Syria.
And on Monday the military said it had struck Lebanon, where it has fought the Hezbollah militant group, in response to attempted drone launches.