nastasya: israel carries out its most punishing ever bombardment of thomas -- of gaza and hamas is threatening to kill civilians. ♪ nastasya: hello. this is "al jazeera." you are watching our special coverage of the conflict between hamas and israel. it has been a day of devastation in gaza. the billions including women and children are among the dead in

jabaliya. israel's prime minister says some hamas fighters remain active inside israel and it includes its barrage of rockets towards alabi. all tensions are also rising on israel's northern border with libya. -- with lebanon. ♪ nastasya: it is now 2200 gmt, 1:00 a.m. in gaza edges where the israeli army says it is carrying out its largest ever bombardment on the aenclave. hamas warns it will begin executing civilians. they will not negotiate the issue of prisoners while gaza is under fire. a warning to our viewers that the pictures you are about to see from gaza are disturbing. let's show you the scenes from the jabaliya neighborhood in northern gaza.

687 palestinians including 140 children have been killed and 900 as release have been killed in of the most serious escalation of violence in decades. israel has declared a total blockade of gaza strip cutting off, fuel, water and the electricity. jabaliya is the largest of the refugee camps. not too far away is a u.n. run elementary school which was not impacted by monday's airstrike. it is still not clear how many people died in that incident in jabaliya. we take a closer look at how monday's events unfolded. reporter: no electricity. no food, no water, no food for -- no fuel for gaza. [explosions]

home to nearly 2.5 million people the gaza strip has been under an air, land and sea blockade since 2007 by israel. but now it has even cut off the basics. the israeli army is bombarding the bus each encl -- besieged enclave. israel hit more than 1000 targets in gaza. israel formally declared war on gaza on sunday and is promising more destruction. is really airstrikes also targeted jabaliya, the largest of the gaza strip's eight refugee camps. the camp is only 1.4 square kilometers in size but it is home to nearly 120,000 palestinians.

>> we are here in the heart of jabaliya. you can see the can -- you can see the destruction in the camp. dozens have been murdered. this is what is happening in gaza. reporter: destruction is everywhere. once bustling with worshipers, this mosque is barely recognizable from the air. hundreds of civilians have been killed and thousands injured. those that survived now have nowhere to go. >> i live in the house away from my family. i ran away from home at 1:00 along with my child and my wife. we escape from being targeted and came to another targeted place. we were surprised by everything. fire and flames were thrown at us. there is no safe place. reporter: gaza is one of the most densely populated places in the world and has one of the

poorest infrastructures. the whole infrastructure is being destroyed now. gaza has seen several wars but these attacks are turning into collective punishment. nastasya: our correspondence are covering this story for us. tariq, let's start with you. i believe you are not far from the hospital with ongoing airstrikes. what are you seeing and hearing? >> the series of the as really strikes continues. the escalation remains. the gaza strip has witnessed it in the last hour a series of targeting in different areas particularly massive amount of

bombardment was in a southern end of the gaza strip. a ministry confirmed that a number of houses were destroyed in the city and four ambulance vehicles were targeted by the israeli air force's. in fact, this kind of act is considered to be a series of threats to their freedom of work for the medical teams in order to rescue victims and to do their job in that area. also, residential tower close to the hospital which is regarded as the biggest medical compound inside the blockaded gaza strip. the building was leveled to the ground during the last hour. in addition, one of the residential houses in the city in the middle of gaza was also

leveled to the ground inside the gaza strip. the continuing where the continuation of the as really strikes on the gaza strip bring catastrophic consequences for the humanitarian aspect. in fact, the medical teams inside the gaza strip are trying to rescue victims. the majority of them are witnessing atrocities committed. that is what happened today with the four ambulances that were generally destroyed. nastasya: you are talking about medical facilities being destroyed and residential blocks being targeted. hamas made a statement about executing a hostage for every unannounced is really attack. you know how much warning there has been when it comes to these airstrikes? reporter: there is no evidence

about any possibility of receiving warnings for these targeted places. there was a warning to evacuate before shelling but later on, israel -- [indiscernible] nastasya: i do hear a funny kind of buzzing. is that a drone? reporter: the sound you can hear in the background is the sound of the as really drones that cover the entire sky of the gaza strip. these drones are used to target civilians inside the gaza strip and to determine or identify targets for the israeli fighter jets to be bombarded later. nastasya: we will leave it there.

we will be staying on top of that in gaza. thank you, tariq. the israeli prime minister is saying that some palestinian gunmen are still inside israel. he also said the airstrikes on gaza have only just started. >> i am confirming that we have started attacking hamas. what you are seeing is just the beginning. we have killed many fighters. every place hamas is working will be completely destroyed and we will continue to intensify operations. nastasya: earlier israel said it was sending military reinforcements to the southern part of the country. let's take a closer look at today's developments within israel. we have this report from west drew's loan. reporter: a drawnout and top israeli operation against hamas fighters, israel's military says it has fully regained control of towns along the border and is ready for its next phase in the war.

some of the hamas fighters were able to evade israeli security forces for nearly three days all holding a number of israeli captives in southern towns. all of this as hamas rockets continue to be fired from gaza into israel causing destruction to infrastructure including a police station. israel is threatening further military action in gaza. 300,000 is really reservists have been called and are on standby with reinforcements being sent to southern israel and now this. >> i have ordered a complete siege on the gaza strip. there will be no electricity, food or fuel. everything is closed. we are fighting human animals and we will react accordingly. reporter: more than half of the towns along the southern border have been evacuated. israel's cabinet invoked article 40 on sunday giving effectively the prime minister and the

defense minister the ability to make more decisions without consulting the cabin every time. last time that was used was for the october 6 war. on monday, far away areas from gaza like tel aviv, drew's loan and an illegal israeli settlement in occupied west bank were targeted by hamas rockets. and in northern israel the military says it has killed fighters who attempted to ill for -- to infiltrate from lebanon further complicating the war. nastasya: let's speak to our correspondent from southern israel. israel is clearly stepping up its response in gaza but they are also acknowledging active hamas fighters on is really territory. -- on israeli territory. reporter: that is right. the israeli government has said

they have taken control of many other towns in the southern part of israel. the towns and villages close to the gaza strip. they have acknowledged that they have not been able to completely clear the area of hamas fighters. there have been reports that there are still fighters in a city on the border. that is very concerning for people here. you are talking about the fact that it has been almost three days since this started and the israeli government with its much vaulted -- flaunted security apparatus, and now you have the government saying they have not yet been able to fully clear the area of hamas fighters. let me bring you up-to-date with one more piece of information we have heard from the israeli army in the last hour. it has stated their naval forces are targeting hamas targets on the gaza strip coast.

we are expecting to get more details about that specific operation in the hours to come. we are about 30 kilometers north of the border with gaza. throughout the last hour or so it has been quieter than it has been in the last few hours but every 10 or 15 minutes we still here outgoingg barrage of fire. all showing that the bombardment continues and we continue to see a mass mobilization of troops in this area in the last several hours. nastasya: when we spoke yesterday you were telling us about how people were still reeling from shock. what is the mood especially as israel retaliates? reporter: i can tell you that here people are concerned.

they are worried. several hours ago around 12:00 p.m. on monday or so, midday, you had a rocket strike. a rocket that had been launched from gaza hit the center of town. a woman was injured. the fact that a rocket could hit here, the center of this city at a time when gaza is being imparted, that took away any sense of security that the residents have. you were just confronted over and over again with this shock. so many people we have encountered in the last few days reiterating what we talked about yesterday. completely unable to process the immensity of what transpired and have continued to say they are having trouble processing all of this and they don't yet know how they willfully react to it and they come to terms with it. you can tell the israeli

government is very concerned about this. we have seen as i mentioned that is about -- that there is about 300,000 reservists have been called up to the south. 100,000 have gotten to the south. when we were on our way here we were seeing a lot of apc vehicles and armaments on the road. we saw more soldiers. we are seeing more reservists. the mobilization continues. as shocked as people are many fully expect there will be a ground invasion of gaza that should be coming practically at any time. this is what we are hearing from people in these areas when we speak to them. nastasya: netanyahu saying this is just the beginning. thank you so much. meanwhile there has been a flareup on a separate front on

israel's border with lebanon. the palestinian armed group islamic jihad has claimed responsibility for an incursion into northern israel from lebanon in which two of its fighters have died. and hezbollah said three of its members have been killed during israeli shelling. israeli artillery fire started a vast forest fire there on the israeli side of the border. we have more from southern lebanon. reporter: this fire is after israeli planes struck the open space on the border between lebanon and israel. why? a group of palestinian fighters from islamic jihad infiltrated the border and engaged in a battle with the israeli army. following that the israeli army started hitting the open spaces, agricultural lands in a bid to

deny the fighters cover in k's there is any future infiltration. that is why we are seeing all of this fire. the huge fires on the border. there is another thing that has been happening. and i think it is very significant. the israelis also hit three posts for hezbollah, the lebanese militant group fighting from southern lebanon. it is the strongest group and maybe the only lebanese group present inside lebanon. over the last 48 hours lebanese front was a space for exchanging messages. not more than that. and that is why the lebanese front was a kind of -- an area that is not part of the conflict. now with the situation underway and the escalation and

intention, it seems the lebanese front is entering the conflict. why? just a few minutes ago hezbollah issued a statement announcing that several of its fighters were killed today in israeli shellings. i'm trying to read from the statement. following this incident, the is la mike resistance carried out a response by attacking the barracks that serve as the command center for the brigade. and another command center. this was done using antitank missiles and mortar shells. there were some direct hits. now we are seeing this tension between hezbollah and israel mounting gradually and going towards a space where lebanon is becoming the new, maybe, place

where all eyes are on to see whether this whole conflict is taking a new dimension. nastasya: still ahead on "al jazeera," we will be bringing you more coverage of the gaza israel war with all of the breaking news. do stay with us. ♪ >> geneva international motor show is coming to qatar. ♪ discover more. >> the industrial hub dates back 100 years and is surrounded by two major rivers and canals that are badly polluted following industrial growth and urbanization. the city has the third worst air quality in bangladesh.

a record the government says it is determined to change. city leaders approved an action plan for low carbon development. it is the first city in bangladesh to do that. ewell parts with green zones including forests and air monitoring stations as well as starting to restore canals and wetlands. >> things have improved a lot here. unlike before when it was polluted. >> environmental experts say the city has the potential to become a role model demonstrating how local governments can play a vital role in realizing the goals of the paris agreement on climate change. ♪ ♪

nastasya: welcome back. you are watching "al jazeera." our headlines. israel's army says it is carrying out its largest ever bombardment on gaza. a spokesperson for hamas is threatening to take the lives of israeli captives for any new bombing of civilian areas without warning. these are the disturbing scenes from earlier in the jabaliya neighborhood. israel has also declared a blockade of the strip. around 687 palestinians including 140 children and 900 israelis have now been killed. the is really prime minister says a number of hamas fighters continued to operate in southern israel. the palestinian president has spoken with u.n. secretary general asking him to intervene and stop ongoing is really on gaza. he also asked for aid to be

allowed in. earlier the u.n. secretary general says israel's blockade will only worsen an already dire situation. >> while i recognize israel's legitimate security concerns i also remind israel that military operations must be conducted within strict accordance of humanitarian law. civilians must be respected and protected at all times. civilian infrastructure must never be a target. and we already have reports of israeli missiles striking other facilities and gaza as well as residential towers and a mosque. i am deeply distressed by today's announcement that israel will initiate a complete seizure of the gaza strip with nothing allowed in, no electricity, food or fuel. the humanitarian situation in gaza was dire before these hostilities. that will only increase exponentially. nastasya: joe biden has

confirmed that a number of american citizens were killed in israel. u.s. and its allies have released a joint statement saying they will support israel's efforts to defend itself. let's speak to alan fisher in washington, d.c. tell us more about the statement that has just come out. reporter: joe biden has been speaking to the leaders on a call this afternoon. in the last hour we got the statement. saying there is steadfast support for israel. the terrorist actions of hamas have no justification or legitimacy. this statement recognizes the palestinian people have the right to live with dignity and that should be extended to them but hamas does not represent the palestinian people. there has been a lot of talk

about the number of americans that have been killed. joe biden confirming that 11 have been killed. and the national security agency believes the number may rise. and the spokesperson for the national security council has said they still cannot confirm whether or not americans are being held hostage. they expect that to be the grim reality of the situation given there are a number of americans and israeli americans that remain unaccounted for after the events of the last 48 hours. nastasya: i see that kirby is also saying that the white house has not been able to determine if iran had any involvement in this. reporter: that has been the speculation for some considerable time. that iran may have played a role and there was a report in the wall street journal that said there was a meeting in lebanon last monday where iran gave the final approval for what hamas was about to do.

kirby said that from the intelligence channels and the information they can gather they have no indication that iran was involved in the detailing of any specific operation. as we have seen over the last or deed hours, perhaps intelligence channels are not to be believed because they failed to pick up any indication that this was heading their way. there is another justification for the u.s. downplaying any role that iran may have had and that is because recently the white house secured the release of five american prisoners from iran paying $6 billion in funds to iran and republicans have been claiming that it was joe biden's decision to go ahead with the deal. freeing up pre-existing funds that iran already had. and it was because joe biden made this payment for why iran

was able to do this. the biden administration is keen to point out the money can only be used for humanitarian issues and to fight humanitarian causes and could only have been released with the treasury's approval and that has not happened. just to reiterate, kirby saying they have no indication that the iranians were involved in the planning of this specific operation. nastasya: alan fisher for us. in terms of the greater concerns about iranian involvement and regional escalation, we are getting word that the is really military is saying one of its deputy commanders was killed in an encounter on the lebanese border on monday. meanwhile, pro-palestinian demonstrations continue in various parts of the world. [chanting] nastasya: more than a thousand

people marched through sydney to the opera house in solidarity with the people of gaza protesting the australian government's of israel. and in spain hundreds gathered in front of government buildings in central madrid and they chanted long life to the palestinian people and killing civilians cannot be justified. pro-israeli marches are also being held in many countries. ♪ nastasya: thousands gathered in the french capital near the eiffel tower as it lit up with the star of david. crowds saying the french and the is national anthems. and in london hundreds gathered near downing street in a supporter of israel. that is it from me for now. the weather is next and then

inside story will look at whether the conflict between hamas and israel could spill over into the wider region. there will be much more news and all of the latest headlines here after that. ♪