Palestinians in besieged Gaza yesterday crowded into hospitals and schools, seeking shelter and running low on food and water. More than 1 million people have fled their homes ahead of an expected Israeli ground invasion aimed at destroying Hamas after its fighters rampaged through southern Israel.
As the enclave’s food, water and medicine supplies dwindled, all eyes were on the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, where trucks carrying badly needed aid have been waiting for days as mediators press for a ceasefire that would allow them enter Gaza and allow foreigners to leave. Rafah, Gaza’s only connection to Egypt, was shut down nearly a week ago because of Israeli airstrikes.
Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry said that Israel “has not taken a position to open the crossing from the Gaza side.”
Photo: AP
The Israeli government did not respond to a request for comment.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians sheltering in UN facilities are on less than 1 liter of water per day. Hospitals said they are on the verge of collapse, with emergency generators that power machines like ventilators and incubators down to about one day of fuel and supplies of medicine almost exhausted.
The Gaza Health Ministry said that 2,750 Palestinians have been killed and 9,700 wounded since the fighting erupted, more than in the 2014 Gaza war, which lasted over six weeks. That makes this the deadliest of the five Gaza wars for both sides.
More than 1,400 Israelis have died, the vast majority civilians killed in Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault. The Israeli military yesterday said that at least 199 hostages were taken back in Gaza, higher than previous estimates. The military did not specify whether that number includes foreigners.
Israeli airstrikes have pulverized entire neighborhoods as Palestinian militants continue to fire rockets into Israel. Israel is widely expected to launch a ground offensive to kill Hamas leaders, recover captives and destroy the group’s military infrastructure, much of which is in residential areas. Street-by-street fighting would likely cause mounting casualties on both sides.
For a third day, Israel’s military announced a safe corridor for people to move from north to south between the hours of 8am and noon. It said more than 600,000 people have already evacuated the Gaza City area.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military ordered residents to evacuate 28 communities near the Lebanese border after increasing cross-border fire between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The military order affects towns that are within 2km from the border.
Hezbollah released video showing snipers shooting out cameras on several Israeli army posts along he border, apparently to prevent Israel from monitoring movements on the Lebanese side.
In the northern Israeli port city of Haifa, the US government began evacuating about 2,500 US citizens by ship to Cyprus. Commercial airlines have largely stopped flying into Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport, making it extremely difficult to get out of the country.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned to Israel for a second time in less than a week after a six-country tour through Arab nations aimed at preventing the fighting from igniting a broader conflict.
US President Joe Biden is also considering a trip to Israel, though no plans have been finalized.
He yesterday postponed a planned trip to Colorado to talk about his domestic agenda and instead would hold meetings with top aides on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
In a television interview on Sunday night, Biden, who has repeatedly proclaimed support for Israel, said he thought it would be a “big mistake” for the country to reoccupy Gaza.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan told CNN the country does not want to occupy Gaza, but would do “whatever is needed” to obliterate Hamas’ capabilities.
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