Israel fired on hundreds of targets in Gaza during operations in the besieged Palestinian enclave as its soldiers battled Hamas fighters, where the death toll is rising and civilians are trapped in horrific conditions, reports RTE.
Gaza’s health ministry said 436 people were killed in shelling over the past 24 hours, mostly south of the narrow, densely populated area along which Israeli troops and tanks had massed in preparation for a possible ground attack.
The Israeli military said it hit more than 320 targets in Gaza in 24 hours, including a tunnel housing Hamas fighters, dozens of command posts and observation points, and mortar and anti-tank rocket launch sites.
With 2.3 million people in the region suffering from shortages of basic necessities, it seemed likely that European leaders would follow suit, calling for a “humanitarian pause” in hostilities from the United Nations and Arab countries so that aid could reach them.
The conflict is escalating outside Gaza, reports RTE.
The United Nations says desperate Gazans lack food, water, medicine and shelter from merciless shelling that has flattened the Hamas-ruled enclave.
The health ministry said at least 5,087 Palestinians, including 2,055 children, were killed in the two weeks of attacks.
“These raids are raids that kill squads of terrorists who are preparing for our next stage in the war. These are raids that go deep,” military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said, reports RTE.
The UN Office of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says about 1.4 million – more than half – of Gaza’s population are currently internally displaced, with many seeking refuge in UN shelters.
“They told us to evacuate your place and go to Khan Younisbecause it is safe…They betrayed us and bombed us,” said 18-year-old Dima Al-Lamdani who lost her parents, seven siblings and four members of her uncle’s family in an air strike after the family moved south, reports RTE.
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