DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Nearly three dozen trucks entered Gaza on Sunday in the largest aid convoy since the war between Israel and Hamas began, but aid workers said the assistance still fell short of needs after after thousands of people broke into warehouses to bring flour and basic hygiene products.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said the death toll among Palestinians surpassed 8,000, mostly women and children, as Israeli tanks and infantry pursued what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a “second stage” in the war started by the brutal Hamas incursion on October 7.
The number of victims is unprecedented in decades of Palestinian-Israeli violence.
More than 1,400 people have been killed on the Israeli side, mainly civilians killed during the initial attack.
Communications were restored to most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents on Sunday after an Israeli bombardment described by residents as the heaviest of the war knocked out phone and internet services on Friday night. evening.
Israel has only allowed in a small amount of aid. On Sunday, 33 trucks carrying water, food and medicine entered the only border crossing from Egypt, a spokesman at the Rafah crossing, Wael Abo Omar, told the Associated Press.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said the death toll among Palestinians exceeded 8,000, mostly women and children.AP Nearly three dozen trucks entered Gaza on Sunday in the largest aid convoy.AP/Abed Khaled
After visiting the Rafah crossing, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court called the suffering of civilians “profound” and said he had not been able to enter Gaza. “These are the most tragic days,” said Karim Khan, whose court has been investigating the actions of Israeli and Palestinian authorities since 2014.
Khan called on Israel to respect international law, but stopped short of accusing it of war crimes.
He called the Hamas attack on October 7 a serious violation of international humanitarian law. “The burden falls on those who aim the weapon, missile or rocket in question,” he said.
The Israeli military said on Sunday it had struck more than 450 militant targets in the past 24 hours, including Hamas command centers and anti-tank missile launch positions.
Huge plumes of smoke rose over Gaza City. Military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said dozens of militants were killed.
Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip, at a morgue in Khan Younis, Sunday, October 29, 2023. AP/Fatima Shbair Israel has allowed in a small amount of aid. On Sunday, 33 trucks carrying water, food and medicine entered through the only border crossing from Egypt.AP/Hatem Ali Communications were restored on Sunday for most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents.AP
Hagari also blamed Hamas leader in Gaza, Yehiya Sinwar, for bringing destruction to his people with the October 7 attack. “We’ll chase him until we catch him,” he said.
Hamas’s military wing said its militants clashed with Israeli troops who entered the northwest Gaza Strip with small arms and anti-tank missiles. Palestinian militants have continued to fire rockets at Israel.
The raids on aid warehouses were “a worrying sign that civil order is beginning to break down after three weeks of war and a strict siege of Gaza,” said Thomas White, Gaza director of the U.N. aid agency. Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA. “People are scared, frustrated and desperate.”
UNRWA spokesperson Juliette Touma said the crowd broke into four facilities on Saturday. She said the warehouses did not contain fuel, which has been critically scarce since Israel cut off all shipments. Israel says Hamas would use it for military purposes.
One warehouse contained 80 tons of food, the U.N. World Food Program said.
More than 1,400 people have died on the Israeli side, mainly civilians killed during the initial attack.AP/ Bernat Armangue
It emphasized that at least 40 of its trucks need to cross into Gaza daily just to meet the growing food needs.
President Joe Biden, in a phone call with Netanyahu on Sunday, “underscored the need to immediately and significantly increase the flow of humanitarian assistance to meet the needs of civilians in Gaza,” the United States said.
Israeli authorities said they would soon allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza.
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But the head of civil affairs at COGAT, the Israeli defense body responsible for Palestinian civil affairs, did not provide details on how much help would be available.
Elad Goren also said that Israel opened two water lines in southern Gaza last week. The AP could not independently verify that any of the lines were working.
Hamas’s military wing said its militants clashed with Israeli troops who entered the northwest Gaza Strip with small arms and anti-tank missiles. Israeli authorities said they would soon allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza.AP
Meanwhile, Gaza’s overcrowded hospitals came under increasing threat.
Residents living near Shifa Hospital, the territory’s largest, said Israeli airstrikes overnight hit near the complex where tens of thousands of civilians are sheltering.
Israel accuses Hamas of having a secret command post beneath the hospital, but has not provided much evidence. Hamas denies the accusations.
“Getting to the hospital has become increasingly difficult,” Mahmoud al-Sawah, who is sheltering in the hospital, said by phone. “It seems they want to isolate the area.”
The Palestinian Red Crescent rescue service said nearby Israeli airstrikes damaged parts of another Gaza City hospital after receiving two calls from Israeli authorities on Sunday ordering it to evacuate. Some windows were blown out and rooms were covered in debris. The rescue service said the airstrikes hit up to 50 meters (yards) of Al-Quds hospital, where 14,000 people are sheltering.
Israel ordered the evacuation of the hospital more than a week ago, but it and other medical facilities have refused, saying the evacuation would mean the death of patients on ventilators.
“Under no circumstances should hospitals be bombed,” International Committee of the Red Cross Director General Robert Mardini told CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
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