Israeli strikes on Gaza leave over 1,000 Palestinians missing. On Monday, around 2,750 people have died from Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip following Hamas’ deadly attack on southern Israel last week. More than 1,000 people remain unaccounted for.
Israeli air strikes on targets in the Palestinian coastal enclave have also caused some 9,700 injuries, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Palestinian civil defense officials say more than 1,000 people are missing under the rubble of buildings that were destroyed by Israeli air strikes in Gaza.
24 hours after buildings were struck, many more people were pulled alive from the rubble, according to the civil defense team.
The Israeli military bombed Hamas-ruled Gaza and continued massing troops Monday in preparation for a full-blown ground invasion, forcing more than one million people to flee their homes.
A day after waves of the group’s fighters broke through the heavily fortified border on October 7, more than 1,400 civilians were killed by shooting, stabbing, and burning.
Following its deadliest attack in history, Israel unleashed a relentless bombing campaign on the Gaza Strip, which has flattened neighbourhoods and killed hundreds of Palestinians.
People have fled their homes in the north of the Gaza Strip following an Israeli order to move south, seeking shelter wherever they can, including on the streets and in UN schools.
It is common to see Palestinians carrying whatever they can in bags, suitcases, and three-wheeled motorbikes, battered cars, vans, and even donkey carts.
A 55-year-old woman who fled Gaza City to Rafah in the south of the enclave says she feels like she is losing her humanity without electricity, water, and internet.
Reports of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas are denied
In the midst of a deepening crisis, Israel and Hamas officials denied reports that a ceasefire had been implemented in southern Gaza so that foreigners could leave and aid could be brought in.
It has been agreed to open the Rafah border crossing to allow aid into the enclave at 0600 GMT, according to Egyptian security sources.
Reuters reports that the Rafah border crossing with Egypt or a temporary ceasefire have no basis in fact, according to Hamas official Izzat El Reshiq.
Netanyahu’s office said in a statement: “There is no truce or humanitarian aid in Gaza in exchange for removing foreigners.”
Uncertainty remained at the Rafah crossing.
Despite nine days of conflict, Hamas-ruled Gaza continued to be bombarded overnight. Residents say it was the heaviest bombardment yet.
A ceasefire is urgently needed
In the meantime, the UN Human Rights Office has expressed alarm over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, calling for a halt to hostilities so that humanitarian aid can enter the region.
This has been a very mammoth diplomatic effort. The secretary-general keeps in constant communication with all parties involved, and many member states are also exerting what leverage they can. In order for aid to be delivered, we need security,” UNHRO spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told CNN on Monday.
Hospitals have been forced to evacuate. Doctors insisting they will stay with patients in ICU wards and neonatal units. You had to make the impossible choice of abandoning your patients or risking their lives.
“Access to water, food, and the forced evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people have created a very, very difficult humanitarian situation in southern Gaza as well,” Shamdasani said.
Aid is waiting at the border to be delivered in large quantities, she said.
The occupation of Gaza is opposed by Biden
US President Joe Biden has warned Israel against the occupation of Palestinian territory, calling the ground assault “a big mistake” as it prepares for an invasion of Gaza.
As thousands of troops and heavy weapons are gathered in the desert south of the country, the Israeli military says it is awaiting the “political” green light to enter northern Gaza.
60 Minutes posted a video clip on Monday showing Biden backing a humanitarian corridor for people to flee the war-torn area and for food and water to be delivered to Gaza.
Biden said, “Israel will act according to the rules of war.”.
Hamas does not represent “all the Palestinian people,” according to the US president, who wants the group entirely eliminated.
Even as American warships headed to the area amid growing clashes along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, Biden said he did not think American troops would be needed on the ground.
It has been reported that the Israeli army has massed forces outside the long-blockaded enclave of 2.4 million in preparation for a land, air, and sea attack involving a “significant ground operation.”
Jonathan Conricus, spokesman for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), said: “We are at the beginning of intense or enhanced military operations in Gaza City.”
“It would be unsafe for civilians to stay there,” he said.
An invasion of Gaza would be met with a response from Hamas supporter Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
Arab League and African Union warn an invasion could lead to “a genocide” as Israel seeks vengeance for the brutal attack that also saw Hamas militants take scores of hostages, including young children.
It has been warned that the entire region is “on the verge of the abyss” by UN chief Antonio Guterres.
‘Israeli forces await political approval’
As thousands of troops and heavy weapons are gathered in the desert south of the country, the Israeli military says it is awaiting the “political” green light to enter northern Gaza.
According to the army, 1.1 million Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip should move to the southern part of the territory.
Israeli air strikes continued in the south of Gaza, including in Khan Yunis and Rafah, where one resident reported that a doctor’s house had been struck.
According to the UN, Israel’s bombing campaign has killed 47 entire families, amounting to around 500 people.
Israel’s evacuation order has been repeatedly criticized by foreign governments and aid agencies, including the UN and Red Cross.
Approximately one million Palestinians have already been displaced in the first week of the conflict, according to the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees.
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