By Athena Papakosta

Seventh day of the war in Israel and the country’s armed forces are gathering around the Gaza Strip. Everyone holds their breath.

Israel’s military has announced it is preparing for the “next phase of the war” with analysts suggesting a ground invasion of Gaza is imminent. Already the Israeli armed forces have leveled it, while Israel emphasizes that the pounding of the area will continue until all 150 hostages in the hands of Hamas gunmen are released.

Gaza remains in the dark after being without electricity for a second day in a row, while Israel has halted the delivery of essential goods and is preventing them from reaching its residents through Egypt.

“We are preparing for a ground maneuver,” said the representative of the Israeli Armed Forces, Richard Hecht, emphasizing that the Israeli army is awaiting the decision of the country’s political leadership.

But Gaza looks like a concrete jungle and is one of the most densely populated areas on the planet, with about 2 million inhabitants in 140 square miles of land. A ground invasion of the Hamas-run region would raise the death toll on both sides. The Islamist organization Hamas has already warned that an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza would turn into a disaster for the Israeli army, adding that the organization is ready to respond.

So far, at least 1,300 Israelis are dead, of which 247 are soldiers, while, due to Israeli bombardment, more than 1,530 people have been killed in Gaza. For its part, Israel reports that 1,500 Hamas militants were found dead on Israeli soil and that hundreds of dead in Gaza are members of the Islamist organization. So far it has dropped more than 6,000 bombs on the Gaza Strip.

The nightmare of war continues while fears that it could lead to a generalized conflict remain. Syrian media reports that Israel launched attacks on the airports in Damascus and Aleppo, disabling them.

Although Israel did not comment on the matter, Iran’s foreign minister is visiting Syria today. Israel has in the past targeted airports and ports in Syrian government-controlled areas to prevent any arms supply from Iran to Tehran-backed groups including Hezbollah in Lebanon, experts say.

At the same time, back in Gaza, Palestinians are running from house to house with their belongings in hand trying to find a safe place to shelter from the Israeli bombardment. Unfortunately, they discover that this place is nowhere to be found. By Wednesday night, when the latest official update was issued by the United Nations, 340,000 people – nearly 15% of the population – in Gaza had been displaced.

At the same time, in Israel the funerals continue and the pain remains unspeakable. The anguish for the hostages and the despair for those still missing are captured in the tears and pleas of their near and dear ones.

United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, after his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, condemned the “terror” of Hamas, reiterated Washington’s support for the country and called for “every possible measure to avoid harm to civilians ». Today, he arrives in Jordan where he will meet with the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas. Afterwards, he will head to Egypt, while the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, together with the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metzola, are expected to land in Tel Aviv.