GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories: Unrelenting Israeli bombardment rocked Gaza on Monday, while an army spokesman warned the war on the besieged territory鈥檚 Hamas rulers will continue throughout 2024.
Israel鈥檚 Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met troops inside Gaza on Monday, and vowed in a statement that 鈥渓ife will return to its course鈥� for residents of border communities hit in Hamas鈥檚 October 7 attacks that triggered the war.
In the southern Gaza Strip, AFPTV footage showed smoke billowing after a strike on Rafah and further north Palestinians, including children, wounded in a strike in Khan Yunis were brought to the city鈥檚 Nasser hospital.
In central Gaza鈥檚 Deir Al-Balah residents were inspecting the damage and searching for survivors under the rubble.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said the army was preparing for the 鈥減rolonged fighting鈥� ahead 鈥渢hroughout this year.鈥�
He later said some of the 300,000 Israeli reserve soldiers will be 鈥済radually鈥� released.
Heavy artillery fire and air strikes were reported across the length of the territory, with the health ministry there saying 15 dead bodies from the same family were recovered Monday from the rubble of a bombed house in Jabalia, in northern Gaza.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the worst year of our lives,鈥� Sami Hamouda, 64, told AFP as 2023 came to a close.
鈥淓very new day is like the previous one: bombings, death and mass killings.鈥�
As fighting raged on in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, Israel鈥檚 top court on Monday issued a ruling against a key component of the government鈥檚 controversial judicial overhaul, which had been met with mass protests before the war.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu鈥檚 war cabinet includes former opponents who had agreed to join on condition that the coalition freezes the divisive reform agenda.
The bloodiest ever Gaza war was triggered by Hamas鈥檚 October 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.

A total of 22,185 Palestinians have been killed and 57,035 wounded in Israeli strikes on Gaza since Oct.7, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
Some 207 Palestinians were killed and 338 were wounded in the past 24 hours, the ministry added.
The Israeli army says 173 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 鈥渢errorist鈥� organization.
Hamas marked the start of 2024 by firing a rocket barrage at Israel at the stroke of midnight in what it called a 鈥渞esponse to the massacres of civilians.鈥�
AFP journalists in Tel Aviv witnessed missile defense systems intercept rockets overhead.
Witnesses in northern Gaza told AFP they saw Israeli forces leaving several areas in and around Gaza City, likely suggesting redeployment rather than permanent withdrawal.
Hagari said the Israeli army was 鈥渁dapting the planning of the force deployment in Gaza鈥� including reserve soldiers, as 鈥渢he fighting will continue and they will still be required.鈥�
Since Israel imposed a siege at the outset of the war, Gazans have been facing dire shortages of food, water, fuel and medicine 鈥� eased only by aid trucks, about 120 of which entered on Sunday.
The UN says 85 percent of the population of the Gaza Strip has been displaced.
Mostafa Shennar, a 43-year-old Palestinian displaced from Gaza City, told AFP in the southern border town of Rafah that 鈥渓iving conditions... are just hopeless.鈥�
Shennar, a coffee vendor, complained of 鈥渟oaring prices鈥� that have slashed his income.
鈥淚 used to sell two large cups of coffee for one shekel ($0.28)鈥� 鈥� now the price of 鈥渙ne small cup,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd even that is hard to obtain鈥� for many Gazans.
Barber Tamer Al-Shaer, whose shop in Rafah now stands amid rubble, said a strike had hit the area, but 鈥淚 tried to clear out the salon, and it鈥檚 okay. I make a living for myself and my family.鈥�
Blades are hard to find and for electricity, Shaer has 鈥渁 small solar panel,鈥� he said, adding: 鈥淢ay God find us a solution as soon as possible.鈥�
In Israel, Gallant, the defense minister, said residents of some towns and villages near the Gaza border 鈥� most of whom evacuated since October 鈥� 鈥渨ill soon be able to return home.鈥�
International mediators have continued efforts toward a new pause in fighting.
An Egyptian three-phase plan proposes renewable cease-fires, 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 鈥渨ithin days.鈥�
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 鈥渕ost violent鈥� year on record for settler attacks in the territory, which Israel has occupied since 1967, 鈥渋n both the number of incidents and their severity.鈥�
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 鈥渆ncourage鈥� the territory鈥檚 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鈥檚 Tehran-backed Houthi rebels.
Also on Monday, Israel said it struck Lebanon, where the military has fought the Hezbollah militant group, in response to attempted drone launches.