Since Hamas’s fatal attack on southern Israel last week, the death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has increased to over 2,750, with more than 1,000 individuals still unaccounted for.
According to the Gaza health ministry, around 9,700 individuals have also been hurt as a result of Israel’s relentless airstrikes on sites in the coastal Palestinian territory.
According to the Palestinian civil defense team, more than 1,000 individuals are believed to be trapped beneath the debris of buildings in Gaza that were demolished by Israeli airstrikes.
According to testimonies by survivors, civil defense workers were getting ready to go to areas bombarded by Israeli jets when their headquarter got bombed by Israeli strikes.
2 headquarters were bombarded, killing 5 civil defense workers and wounding others. #Gaza pic.twitter.com/2j6QULnbpr— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) October 15, 2023
The civil defense team claimed in a statement that several more people were found alive in the wreckage 24 hours after buildings were hit.
In scenes of chaos and despair, more than a million Gaza residents have fled their homes as Israel continued to deploy troops on Monday in preparation for a full-scale ground invasion of the Hamas-ruled region.
A day after waves of the group’s fighters breached the heavily guarded border on October 7, killing more than 1,400 people—mostly civilians—by shooting, stabbing, and setting fire to them, Israel declared war on the group.
Israel launched a relentless bombing campaign against the Gaza Strip after suffering the deadliest attack in its history, razing entire neighborhoods and killing hundreds of Palestinians, mostly civilians.
People have fled their homes in the northern part of the enclave in response to an Israeli order to move to the southern part of the Gaza Strip, seeking refuge wherever they can, including on the streets and in UN-run schools.
Palestinians are frequently seen traveling with whatever possessions they can fit into, whether they are traveling on three-wheeled motorbikes, beat-up automobiles, trucks, or even donkey carts.
“There is no internet, no water, or electricity. Mona Abdel Hamid, 55, who fled Gaza City for Rafah in the south of the enclave and is staying with strangers, said, “I feel like I’m losing my humanity.”
Israel and Hamas refute claims of a ceasefire
Reports that a ceasefire had been enforced in southern Gaza to permit foreigners to leave the beleaguered Palestinian enclave and aid to be delivered amid a worsening crisis were refuted by Israel and Hamas officials.
A deal has reportedly been reached to open the Rafah border crossing so that aid may start entering the enclave at 0600 GMT, according to security sources in Egypt.
Izzat El Reshiq, a representative of Hamas, told Reuters that there was no reality to rumors of a temporary ceasefire or the opening of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
According to a statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “There is currently no cease-fire and humanitarian aid in Gaza in exchange for getting foreigners out.”
It was still unclear what was happening at the Rafah crossing.
Residents of Gaza, which is governed by Hamas, claim that the shelling there overnight was the worst one so far in the conflict’s nine days of hostilities.
“Urgent cease-fire required”
The UN Human Rights Office has also called for an “urgent need” to pause hostilities in order to let aid into Gaza due to the dire humanitarian situation in the beleaguered Palestinian enclave.
“Extremely massive diplomatic efforts have been made to try to make this happen. The secretary-general maintains frequent communication with all the parties concerned, and many other member nations are also using their influence as much as they are able to. Our ability to distribute relief depends on security, UNHRO spokesman Ravina Shamdasani told CNN on Monday.
Several neighborhoods in #Gaza are being targeted #now and for the last 3 hours in non-stop bombings described as “fire belts”, which aim at leveling entire blocks. pic.twitter.com/AmFz7IpDf2
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) October 16, 2023
“We have seen hospitals that have been forced to evacuate. Doctors insisting that they will stay with patients who are in the ICU wards and the neonatal units, where you had the impossible choice of whether to abandon your patients or to stay with them and risk death. The access to water, access to food, the forced evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people into southern Gaza has created a very, very difficult humanitarian situation in southern Gaza as well,” Shamdasani stated. She stated that there is substantial humanitarian assistance awaiting entry from the border.
Biden rejects the occupation of Gaza
US Vice President Joe Biden has warned Israel against occupying Palestinian territory and called the ground invasion “a big mistake” as Israel gets ready to invade Gaza.
The Israeli military has amassed tens of thousands of soldiers and heavy equipment in the southern desert of the nation and stated that it is waiting for the “political” go-ahead to enter northern Gaza.
Biden supported a humanitarian corridor to allow people to leave the conflict-torn region and to facilitate the flow of humanitarian goods, such as food and water, into Gaza in a video footage that was posted by CBS News’s 60 Minutes on Monday.
President Biden supports a humanitarian corridor that allows people out of Gaza – where Israel has cut off food, fuel, electricity, and much of the water. He also says the Israeli occupation of Gaza would be “a big mistake.” https://t.co/gYadyBKneX pic.twitter.com/7Tn0Oyo8Lo
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 15, 2023
I have faith that Israel will conduct itself in accordance with the laws of war, Biden said.
According to the US president, he doesn’t think Hamas represents “all the Palestinian people” and he wants to see the organization completely destroyed.
Even as American warships sailed toward the region amid escalating combat on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, Biden said he did not believe American troops would be required on the ground since Israel has one of the “finest fighting forces.”
Israeli forces have gathered outside the 2.4 million-person long-blockaded enclave in anticipation of what the army has described as a land, air, and sea onslaught involving a “significant ground operation” from a grieving and enraged Israel.
“It would be unsafe for civilians to stay there,” he stated.
Iran, a supporter of Hamas, and Hezbollah in Lebanon, which is also backed by Tehran, have issued warnings that an assault of Gaza would result in retaliation.
However, the Arab League and African Union have warned an invasion could result in “a genocide,” and UN chief Antonio Guterres has warned that the entire region was “on the verge of the abyss” as Israel seeks to exact revenge for the brutal attack that also saw Hamas militants take scores of hostages, including young children.
The Israeli military has amassed tens of thousands of soldiers and heavy equipment in the southern desert of the nation and stated that it is waiting for the “political” go-ahead to enter northern Gaza.
1.1 million Palestinians living in the north of the Gaza Strip have been ordered by the army to move to the south of the territory.
However, Israeli airstrikes continued in the southern part of Gaza, particularly in Khan Yunis and Rafah, where a local said a doctor’s home was struck, according to a resident.
The UN said on Monday that Israel’s bombing campaign has resulted in the deaths of 47 entire families, or over 500 individuals.
Foreign countries and humanitarian organizations, such as the UN and Red Cross, have frequently criticized Israel’s order to evacuate.
Around one million Palestinians had already been displaced in the first week of the fighting, according to the UN organization helping Palestinian refugees, although the actual figure was likely higher.
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