Some of Israel’s closest friends pressed Israel on Wednesday about the situation of civilians in Gaza, as hundreds fled on foot to the north due to diminishing food and water supplies and fear of advancing Israeli soldiers.
Over 70% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have already fled their homes, but the number of people fleeing has increased recently as Israeli soldiers combat Hamas terrorists inside Gaza City and the humanitarian situation worsens.
Following extensive negotiations in Tokyo, the Group of Seven affluent nations issued a united statement on the Israel-Hamas conflict, criticizing Hamas and backing Israel’s right to self-defense. However, the organization also called for “unimpeded” supply of food, water, medication, and gasoline on Wednesday, as well as “humanitarian pauses” in the combat.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has kept the door open to brief pauses in order to transport humanitarian relief, but has ruled out a larger cease-fire until all hostages are liberated.
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The battle sparked by Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack inside Israel has no conclusion in sight.
Israel has stated that the struggle to remove Hamas’ leadership and defeat its military capabilities would be lengthy and tough, and that it will maintain some sort of control over the coastal enclave eternally – though how this will be accomplished is unknown. Inside Israel, where the attention has been on the fate of the more than 240 hostages kidnapped by Hamas and other terrorist organizations, support for the war remains strong.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, some 15,000 Palestinians evacuated northern Gaza on Tuesday, more than double the number that departed on Monday. They are utilizing Gaza’s major north-south roadway during Israel’s daily four-hour timeframe.
Children, the elderly, and those with disabilities were among those leaving, and the majority traveled with few items, according to the United Nations. Some said they were forced to walk through Israeli checkpoints, where they witnessed individuals being detained, while others put their hands in the air and hoisted white flags as they passed Israeli tanks.
Since Oct. 21, hundreds of vehicles delivering relief have been permitted to enter Gaza from Egypt. However, humanitarian workers argue that this is far from sufficient.
“Right now, there’s an ocean of needs in Gaza, and what’s coming in is a drop in the bucket.” “We need fuel, water, food, and medical supplies,” said Dominic Allen of the United Nations Population Fund, speaking from the West Bank.
Residents reported hearing huge explosions around Gaza City and in the Shati refugee camp, which houses Palestinian families who fled or were pushed out of what is now Israel during the 1948 conflict that preceded its founding.
“The bombings were heavy and close,” claimed Mohamed Abed, a Gaza City resident.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the Israeli army’s top spokesperson, stated late Tuesday that ground forces had entered “the depths of Gaza City.” The army stated Wednesday that it killed one of Hamas’ top rocket and other weapon engineers, but did not specify where he was killed.
Hamas has denied that Israeli forces have made major advances or reached Gaza City. It was unable to independently authenticate either side’s combat claims.
Israel is focusing its attacks on the city, which had a population of 650,000 people before the conflict and is said to be home to Hamas’ central leadership and a network of tunnels. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled to the north, where the city is located, in recent weeks, despite the fact that Israel frequently hits what it claims are militant targets in the south, often killing civilians.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians remain in the north, many of whom are seeking refuge in hospitals or United Nations schools. The north has been without running water for weeks, and the United Nations relief office reported Tuesday that the final operating bakeries closed due to a shortage of fuel, water, and wheat.
According to Majed Haroun, a Gaza City resident, mothers and children walk door to door asking for food, while those in shelters rely on local contributions.
Ameer Ghalban, who was pushing an elderly relative in a wheelchair down Gaza’s main highway, claimed the two of them had been surviving on one piece of bread a day for the last three days. “The majority of people have fled their homes because the siege in Gaza has become absolute.” “We don’t have any water, electricity, or flour,” he explained.
The situation in the south is not much better, with hundreds of thousands of displaced people crammed into improvised shelters. According to the United Nations, 600 people must share a single toilet at one.
According to Iyad Abu Zaher, director of the neighboring Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, an Israeli airstrike targeted a family residence in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza on Wednesday, killing at least 18 people and injuring scores more. He predicted that the death toll would grow as medics and first responders combed the ruins.
According to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run enclave, a month of unrelenting shelling in Gaza since the Hamas offensive has killed more than 10,500 Palestinians, two-thirds of whom are women and kids. More than 2,300 people are said to have been buried by strikes that demolished whole city blocks in some cases.
Since the commencement of the war, over 1,400 people have perished in Israel, the majority of them were civilians slain by Hamas terrorists during their incursion. A large number of captives were also captured that day. Since the ground battle began, Israel claims 32 troops have been killed in Gaza, while Palestinian terrorists continue to launch rockets into Israel on a regular basis.
Israeli officials believe hundreds of Palestinian terrorists have been killed, and they blame Hamas for civilian casualties, charging it of endangering people by operating in residential areas. In its casualty reports, Gaza’s Health Ministry makes no distinction between civilians and fighters.
The conflict has heightened tensions along the border, with Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah terrorist organization exchanging fire. Since the beginning of the conflict, more than 160 Palestinians have been murdered in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, primarily during violent rallies and gunfights with Israeli soldiers conducting arrest raids. Some 250,000 Israelis have been compelled to flee settlements near the Gaza and Lebanon borders.
