The leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip says he is ready for an immediate prisoner exchange with Israel

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk warned on Saturday that thousands more civilians could be killed as Israel continues ground operations in the <a href="https://www.archyde.com/israel-hits-hamas-targets-in-gaza-after-shells-fired-from-the-strip/" title="Israel hits Hamas targets in Gaza after shells fired from the strip”>Gaza Strip.

On Saturday, three weeks after a Hamas attack that ignited the deadliest war in Israel’s history, the Jewish state’s military continued to pound the Gaza Strip after a fierce overnight bombardment that rescuers said destroyed hundreds of buildings.

“Given the way military operations have been conducted so far under the conditions of the 56-year-long occupation, I express my concern about the possible catastrophic consequences of large-scale ground operations in the Gaza Strip and the possibility that thousands more civilians may die,” stated V. Turkas.

“There is no safe place in Gaza and there is no way to leave. I am very worried for my colleagues, as well as for all the civilians in Gaza.”

Israel launched the bombing campaign after Hamas gunmen stormed the Gaza border on October 7, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and taking more than 220 hostages, according to Israeli officials.

The health ministry in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip said Israeli strikes had killed 7,703 people, mostly civilians, including more than 3,500 children.

The UN rights chief also expressed concern over the blackout of internet and telecommunications services in the Palestinian enclave since Friday.

“As a result of Israel’s strikes on telecommunications facilities and the consequent loss of Internet connectivity, Gazans have no way of knowing what is happening in the Gaza Strip and are cut off from the outside world,” he said.

“Ambulance and civil defense teams are no longer able to find the injured or the thousands of people believed to still be under the rubble.”

“When these hostilities end, those who survived will face the ruins of their homes and the graves of their family members,” Turk said.

He called on all countries to “do everything in their power to de-escalate the conflict.”

This is the fifth and deadliest conflict in the Gaza Strip since Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Palestinian territory in 2005.

Israel’s latest strikes against Hamas, the Islamist group that has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007, were the most intense since the war began. They coincided with ground operations

VIDEO: People are being rescued after the attacks in the Gaza Strip

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