2023-11-02 08:54:02
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli ground forces advanced toward Gaza City Thursday as the United States and Arab countries stepped up diplomatic efforts to ease the siege on the Hamas-ruled enclave and achieve at least a brief pause in fighting to help the civilian population.
US President Joe Biden suggested a humanitarian “pause” on Wednesday as hundreds of foreign passport holders and wounded Palestinians left Gaza for the first time through the Rafah border crossing into Egypt.
Arab countries, including Washington allies that are at peace with Israel, have expressed growing discontent over the war. Jordan withdrew its ambassador to Israel and has asked his Israeli counterpart not to return to the country until the war and the “humanitarian catastrophe” it is causing ends. More than 3,600 Palestinian children have been killed in 25 days of fighting, in which bombs have forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes while food, water and fuel are in short supply.
Israeli troops entered the Strip in large numbers over the weekend after three weeks of intense aerial bombardment that leveled entire neighborhoods and drove more than half of its 2.3 million residents from their homes. The war — the fifth and by far the deadliest between Israel and Hamas — began with a bloody assault by the insurgent group on southern Israeli territory on October 7 that killed hundreds of men, women and children. About 240 people were captured.
The United States has pledged unwavering support for Israel as it seeks to end Hamas’ control over Gaza and crush its military capabilities, although the allies do not appear to have a clear future plan for the enclave. White House officials indicated that a pause in the fighting would allow more aid into Gaza and create the conditions for the possible release of more hostages.
The opening of the Rafah crossing occurred after weeks of negotiations between Egypt, Israel, the United States and Qatar, which acts as a mediator with Hamas. It was the first time anyone had left Gaza, apart from the four hostages freed by Hamas and the one rescued by Israeli forces.
Israeli troops appear to be advancing along three main routes, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a US think tank. One column comes from the northeast corner of Gaza. Another, south of Gaza City, crossed the territory until reaching the main highway linking the north and south.
The third, which left the northwestern edge of the enclave, has advanced about 5 kilometers (3 miles) along the Mediterranean coast to the outskirts of the Shati and Jabaliya refugee camps, near Gaza City. Airstrikes launched by Israel on Tuesday and Wednesday destroyed residential buildings in Jabaliya, but the number of deaths and injuries is unknown at this time. According to the Israeli army, the operation killed insurgents and demolished Hamas tunnels.
Palestinian insurgents fired anti-tank missiles, set off explosive devices and lobbed grenades at Israeli forces during a nighttime battle, the military said Thursday. The soldiers returned fire and resorted to artillery, as well as attacks from a helicopter and a ship. The reports could not be independently confirmed.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians remain in the fighting zone in northern Gaza despite repeated calls from Israel to evacuate and head to the south, which is also being shelled by its forces.
Casualties on both sides are expected to rise as Israeli troops advance into densely populated neighborhoods in Gaza City. Israeli officials maintain that Hamas’ military infrastructure, including its tunnels, is concentrated in the city and accuse the insurgents of hiding among the civilian population.
Rockets fired from Gaza into Israel and daily skirmishes between Israel and the Lebanese insurgent group Hezbollah have disrupted the lives of millions of Israelis and forced some 250,000 from border towns in the north and south. Most projectiles are intercepted or fall in open areas.
More than 8,800 Palestinians have been killed during the war, mostly women and children, and more than 22,000 people have been wounded, the Palestinian Health Ministry said on Wednesday, which made no distinction between combatants and civilians. This figure is unprecedented in the decades of violence between the two sides.
More than 1,400 people died on the Israeli side, mainly civilians who were killed during the initial Hamas attack, also a number never seen before. Sixteen Israeli soldiers have died in Gaza since the start of the ground campaign.
At least 335 people with foreign passports left the enclave for Egypt through the Rafah crossing on Wednesday, said Wael Abu Omar, spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority. A total of 76 Palestinian patients and their companions were evacuated for treatment in the neighboring country, he added.
For its part, the United States said it was trying to remove 400 American citizens and their families.
Egypt has said it will not accept a wave of Palestinian refugees for fear that Israel will not allow them to return to Gaza after the war.
Those who remain in the enclave face an increasingly desperate humanitarian situation: supplies are dwindling and hundreds of thousands of people are crammed into hospitals and shelters run by the United Nations. Israel has allowed more than 260 trucks with food and medicine to enter from Egypt, but aid workers say it is not enough.
Hospitals say their generators are running out of fuel after weeks without electricity. The World Health Organization said the lack of fuel puts at risk 1,000 patients receiving kidney dialysis, 130 premature babies in incubators, cancer patients and patients on respirators.
___
Chehayeb reported from Beirut, Lebanon. Associated Press writers Wafaa Shurafa in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, and Amy Teibel in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
1698915692
#Diplomatic #efforts #stop #war #gain #strength #Israeli #soldiers #advance #Gaza