 Hopes for a brief ceasefire in southern Gaza to allow foreign passport holders to leave the besieged Palestinian enclave and aid to be brought in were dashed on October 16, with Israeli bombardments intensifying ahead of an expected ground invasion, residents of Hamas-ruled Gaza said the overnight strikes were the heaviest yet in nine days of conflict. Many houses were flattened and the death toll rose inexorably. They said video footage showed explosions and thick clouds of smoke rising above the Gaza skyline. Diplomatic efforts have been underway to get aid into the enclave, which has endured unrelenting Israeli bombing since the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants that killed 1,300 people, the bloodiest single day in the state's 75-year history.