Gaza officials say thousands of people have been killed by Israeli strikes
Thousands of wounded soldiers have been evacuated from the Gaza Strip by Israeli forces since the deadly attack on two hostages on Sunday, according to the Israeli Defense Force
Israel’s air campaign across Gaza intensified overnight into Monday as essential supplies trickled into the region ahead of an expected ground invasion.
Hamas headquarters, tunnels and firing positions in Gaza were hit by the Israel Defense Force as they struck over 320 military targets on Sunday.
More than one million Palestinians have left the northern portion of the Gaza Strip and are packed into homes, schools and hotels in the south.
There was not any word on the two hostages and their husbands. There are still 220 hostages from the deadly assault by Hamas on Israeli communities in the Gaza Strip.
“We are working in all ways to free the hostages and bring them home,” Hagari said, according to The Guardian, adding that the weekend Israeli raids inside Gaza were aimed at gathering information on them.
At least 10 Americans remain unaccounted for, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday while briefing reporters about the release of two Americans who were being held hostage — Judith Raanan, 59, and Natalie Raanan, 17, a mother and daughter from Illinois.
After an initial delivery of 20 truckloads worth of aid Saturday, another 14 followed on Sunday. The AP says an additional shipment entered on Monday.
Humanitarian workers say the relief isn’t enough. The shipments amount to about 3% of what would cross the border before the hostilities began.
Without fuel there will be no water, hospitals and bakeries. Without fuel, aid will not reach those in desperate need. Without fuel, there will be no humanitarian assistance,” said Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA’s commissioner-general, in a statement issued Sunday. Without fuel we will not be able to meet the needs of the people of Gaza.
It is important that generators for critical infrastructure, including hospitals, desalination plants and wastewater treatment facilities, be powered by fuel because the Gaza power plant is still out of operation.
An emergency supply of fuel held by the U.N.’s relief agency for Palestinians, known as UNRWA, will be exhausted within a few days, officials have warned.
“We have run out of all the medical supplies that are available in Gaza,” Dr. Abu Sitta said.
He said that an estimated 14,000 wounded have consumed all the supplies in the system, from the medication to the equipment, to everything required to care for them.
Israeli Prime Minister Yocheved Lifashitz’s Story of a Trapped Refugee in the Rafah Strip
A group of Western leaders renewed their support for Israel in a statement Sunday, while also calling for the country to adhere to humanitarian law.
The statement came after a phone call between President Biden, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, President Emmanuel Macron of France, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy, and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom.
The leaders committed to coordinating with partners in the region to ensure aid reached those in Gaza, as well as “close diplomatic coordination, including with key partners in the region, to prevent the conflict from spreading, preserve stability in the Middle East, and work toward a political solution and durable peace,” the statement reads.
The comments from Western leaders came after Biden held a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during which the two agreed to a “continued flow” of aid into Gaza, the White House said.
Netanyahu has had many encounters with world leaders over the last few days. Mark Rutte is visiting Israel today while France’sMacron is expected to visit tomorrow.
China’s special envoy to the Middle East, Zhai Jun, is also in the region today. Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, is also planning to head to the Middle East, but will start with allies in Iran on Monday.
Yocheved Lifashitz, an Israeli who had been held captive by Hamas, described her experience in a press conference on the day after her release.
Lifashitz said that she was kept in a large hall for more than two weeks after being escorted through underground tunnels. She said that Hamas provided food, medicine and a doctor.
Lifashitz and Nur it Cooper were freed after an agreement was reached. There was no indication of what happened to the two women chosen for release.
A video released Monday by Hamas showed the two women being greeted by the International Committee of the Red Cross, which transported them across Gaza’s Rafah border with Egypt. In the video, Lifshitz can be seen reaching back out to shake the hand of a Hamas fighter as she says “shalom,” the Hebrew word for “peace” that is used as a greeting and farewell.
Freed Israeli hostage: Hamas kidnapping was “a nightmare we couldn’t imagine” — Israeli Defense Forces Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi
Israeli military officials stress their commitment to eliminate Hamas’ military capabilities.
Israel hopes to bring Hamas to the point of full dismantlement, according to the Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi. “There are tactical, operative, strategic considerations that have provided additional time. The troops who have more time are better prepared.
“We live just to live our lives and our dreams, and they killed our neighbors. They’re targeting our neighborhood. There is a man who is stranded in Gaza who believes it to be a massacre.
Despite the evacuation notices, Khuwaiter has not yet left Gaza City, because it is too difficult to move his 30-some family members, especially his elderly parents, who are in poor health, he told NPR in a voice memo.
Instead, he has stayed to see buildings in the area damaged and destroyed, including the apartment where he had been living for only one month as a newlywed with his new wife. The family has no more food than rice or canned food to last through tomorrow, he said.
My family members could die in front of me. I’m afraid for the next day. I’m afraid for the night to come, he said. Gazan people think that they are dreaming and they need someone to wake them up.
Israel: Enough is enough, says the Emir of the Gaza Strip in the recent bloody war on the Middle East Continuum
Fifty-seven truckloads of aid have entered the Gaza Strip over the past few days, a “drop in the ocean” according to the U. UN refugee agency.
The war in the Middle East should be stopped without embroiling other countries in the conflict, according to an appeal from a leading nation in the negotiations.
“We say to Israel: Enough is enough. The emir of the country wrote on the social media site that ignoring the reality of occupation, siege and settlements is not permissible.
“We refuse to attack civilians from any party, regardless of their nationality, and we refuse to act as if the lives of Palestinian children do not count, as if they have no faces or names,” he said.
