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Saturday, October 21, 2023

Israel vows to step up Gaza strikes before ground invasion

RAFAH, Egypt 

Israel’s military said Saturday it would intensify strikes on Hamas-controlled Gaza ahead of a planned ground invasion, as UN agencies warned of a “catastrophic” humanitarian situation in the blockaded territory.

A first trickle of aid entered the Palestinian enclave from Egypt on Saturday, but the 20 trucks permitted to cross have been described as a “drop in the ocean” given the needs of 2.4 million residents.

The military has pounded Gaza with relentless strikes in response to Hamas’s murderous October 7 attack, in which militants killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians who were shot, mutilated or burnt to death, according to Israeli officials.

The bombing campaign has killed more than 4,300 Palestinians, mainly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, and reduced swathes of the densely-populated territory to smoldering ruins.

Over 40 percent of all housing has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN citing local authorities, and Israel has halted the delivery of food, water, fuel and electricity.

Israel will now intensify its bombardment, to minimize the risks to its troops when they begin a ground invasion, military spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari said.

“From today, we are increasing the strikes and minimizing the danger,” he said.

“We will increase the attacks and therefore I called on Gaza City residents to continue moving south for their safety.”

Israel has warned more than one million residents of the northern part of Gaza to move south for their safety, and the UN says more than half the enclave’s population is now internally displaced.

Bombardment has continued in southern parts of the Strip though, with Hamas authorities reporting nine killed in an airstrike in Khan Younis overnight.

Hundreds of thousands of civilians are believed to remain in and around Gaza City in the north, unwilling or unable to leave.

Israeli troops have massed on the border with Gaza and commanders visited frontline units on Saturday to rally troops.

“We will enter Gaza,” chief of staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi told one infantry brigade on a visit.

“Gaza is densely populated, the enemy is preparing a lot of things there — but we are also preparing for them,” Halevi said.

A ground invasion poses myriad challenges for Israeli troops, who are likely to be confronted by Hamas booby traps and tunnels in a densely packed urban environment. 

The safety of over 200 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 and held in Gaza is another complicating factor.

Two American hostages were released on Friday evening, after mediation from Qatar, which said more could be freed “very soon.”

“We are taking a path that will very soon lead to release of the hostages, especially civilians,” Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari told the German Welt am Sonntag newspaper Saturday.

“We are currently working on an agreement under which all civilian hostages will be initially released,” he added.

After negotiations and US pressure, 20 trucks carrying food and medicine, but no fuel, crossed from Egypt into Gaza on Saturday.

The crossing closed afterwards, and UN officials warned much more was needed.

“Gaza was a desperate humanitarian situation before the most recent hostilities,” five UN agencies said in a statement.

“It is now catastrophic. The world must do more.” 

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