Israel has extended its ground offensive in Gaza, urging Palestinians residing in the northern part of the region to relocate to the southern areas to avoid the intensifying conflict in the center. Simultaneously, global humanitarian organizations are intensifying their appeals for a cessation of hostilities due to mounting concerns about the severe toll exacted on Gaza’s civilian population by Israel’s ongoing bombardment.
During a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Joe Biden stressed the imperative to promptly and substantially enhance the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza’s civilians, as conveyed by the White House.
According to Daniel Hagari, the spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces, Israel is proceeding with the various phases of its military campaign in accordance with its strategic plan, progressively expanding its ground operations. He disclosed that a significant number of militants were eliminated during the assaults on Gaza on Sunday. Israel has extended
Hagari reiterated earlier calls for the civilian population to swiftly move to areas nearer to the border with Egypt, emphasizing the urgent nature of this appeal.
But aid groups say the movement of thousands of people from their homes is exacerbating Gaza’s humanitarian crisis. UNRWA, the main UN agency providing relief in the territory, said thousands of desperate Palestinians were breaking into its warehouses to seize wheat flour and other staples, in a sign that civil order was starting to break down.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies also said it was “deeply alarmed” by reports that medical teams at al-Quds hospital in Gaza had been told to leave the facility immediately. “Evacuating patients, including those in intensive care, on life-support and babies in incubators, is close to, if not impossible in the current situation,” the IFRC said. “Our teams also report violent attacks and shelling very close to the hospital, further endangering people.” An IDF spokesperson declined to comment, saying only that the hospital was located in a part of Gaza that it had called on people to leave. Israel has been bombarding Gaza for three weeks since the Hamas attack on the country on October 7 in which at least 1,400 Israelis were killed — the deadliest day in the nation’s 75-year history. Hamas also took more than 200 hostages, both civilians and soldiers, whom it continues to hold. On Sunday the Hamas-controlled health ministry said the death toll in Gaza since the start of the Israeli offensive had risen to 8,005 Palestinians with 20,242 injured.