GAZA: Israel continued its inhuman bombardment of civilians and killed over 700 Palestinians in overnight air strikes, Gaza’s health ministry said on Tuesday.
This was the highest 24-hour death toll since Israel began a bombing campaign to crush Hamas militants who stunned the country with a deadly October 7 attack, Reuters news agency reported.
Israel said it had killed dozens of Hamas fighters in the overnight strikes on the besieged enclave but said its war to destroy the Islamist group would take time. As aid agencies warned that a humanitarian catastrophe was unfolding in Gaza, French President Emmanuel Macron flew to Israel to offer it support.
He told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that France stood “shoulder to shoulder” with Israel in its war with Hamas while also saying it must not fight “without rules”.
The United Nations urged Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, saying the aid let in so far met a tiny fraction of the needs of the beleaguered population. Fuel, still blocked, was crucial.
“We are on our knees asking for that sustained, scaled up, protected humanitarian operation,” said Dr Rick Brennan, WHO Regional Emergencies Director.
UN agencies say they have no assurances their aid workers will be safe to reach those in need. But there appeared to be little prospect of a ceasefire any time soon in the bloodiest episode in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in decades.
Gaza’s health ministry said at least 5,791 Palestinians have been killed in the strikes on the Hamas-ruled enclave since Oct. 7, including 2,360 children. A total of 704 were killed in the previous 24 hours alone, it said.
Comments are closed.