2023-10-22 07:42:02
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli warplanes struck targets in different locations in Gaza overnight and Saturday morning, as well as two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by militants, as the war with Hamas that began two weeks ago threatened to trigger a broader conflict.
Israel has crossed fire with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah almost daily since the war began and tensions are running high in the West Bank, an Israeli-occupied territory where Israeli forces are fighting militants in refugee camps and have carried out two airstrikes in the last days.
For days, Israel appears poised to launch a ground offensive in Gaza as part of its response to the deadly Hamas attack on October 7. Tanks and tens of thousands of troops have amassed on the border, and Israeli leaders have alluded to an unspecified later phase in operations.
However, the military acknowledges that there are still hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians in northern Gaza despite a general evacuation order, which would complicate any ground offensive. And the risk of sparking a broader war with Hamas allies in Lebanon and Syria might also be a headwind.
Twenty aid trucks were allowed into Gaza from Egypt through the Rafah crossing on Saturday, the first time anything had entered the territory since Israel imposed a full siege two weeks ago.
Aid workers said it was nowhere near enough to address the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where half of the 2.3 million residents have fled their homes. Hospitals overwhelmed with patients and displaced people are left without medical supplies or fuel for their generators, forcing doctors to operate with sewing needles, with cooking vinegar as a disinfectant and without anesthesia.
Palestinians sheltered in UN-run schools and tent camps have little food supplies and drink dirty water. The territory’s only solar plant shut down a week ago, causing a widespread blackout and paralyzing water and sanitation systems. The United Nations humanitarian agency said cases of chickenpox, scabies and diarrhea were on the rise due to a lack of clean water.
The Hamas-run Interior Ministry reported intense Israeli airstrikes throughout the territory overnight and into Sunday, including in southern areas where Israel told Palestinians to take shelter. The ministry said that among the places attacked were homes and a cafe in the south where dozens of people had taken shelter.
The Israeli military said it was targeting Hamas members and facilities, but was not targeting civilians. Palestinian militants have fired rockets into Israel daily, which Hamas says hit Tel Aviv on Sunday morning.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with his government on Saturday night to discuss ground invasion plans, according to Israeli media. Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, an army spokesman, said Israel planned to increase airstrikes starting Saturday in preparation for “the next phases of the war.”
Israel has vowed to crush Hamas but has given few details regarding its plans for Gaza if it succeeds. Yifat Shasha-Biton, a government minister, told Channel 13 TV that there was broad consensus in the government regarding establishing a “buffer zone” in Gaza to keep Palestinians away from the border.
A ground attack on Israel would likely mean a drastic escalation of casualties on both sides. More than 1,400 people have died in Israel in the war, most of them civilians killed during the initial attack by Hamas. At least 210 people were captured and forcibly taken to Gaza, including men, women, children and the elderly. Two Americans were freed on Friday in what Hamas described as a humanitarian gesture.
More than 4,300 people have died in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. That includes the disputed death toll from a hospital explosion.
For its part, Syrian media indicated that Israeli airstrikes had hit international airports in the capital, Damascus, and the northern city of Aleppo. The bombings killed one person and disabled the landing strips.
Israel has carried out several airstrikes in Syria, sometimes targeting airports, since the war began. Israel does not usually acknowledge specific attacks, although it says it is acting to prevent Hezbollah and other armed groups from bringing in weapons from its sponsor, Iran, which also backs Hamas.
In Lebanon, Hezbollah said six of its fighters were killed on Saturday and the group’s number two, Sheikh Naim Kassem, warned that Israel would pay a high price if it began a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. Israel says it will continue to respond to rocket fire from Lebanon.
In the occupied West Bank, dozens of Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli troops, arrest raids and attacks by Jewish settlers. Israeli forces have closed crossings into the territory and roadblocks between cities, arguing that they want to prevent attacks.
The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority administers parts of the West Bank and cooperates with Israel on security, but it is deeply unpopular and has been the target of violent Palestinian protests.
Israeli forces killed at least five people on Sunday morning in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Two were killed in an airstrike on a mosque in the town of Jenin, which has seen intense firefights between Palestinian militants and Israeli troops in the last year.
The Israeli military said the mosque complex belonged to Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants who have carried out several attacks in recent months and were planning another.
Sunday’s deaths brought the death toll in the West Bank to 90 Palestinians since the start of the war on October 7, according to the Health Ministry. Most appeared to have died in combat with Israeli forces or violent protests.
Thirteen Palestinians, five of them minors, and a member of the Israeli paramilitary border police, were killed last week in a battle in a refugee camp in the West Bank town of Tulkarem, in which Israel also used an airstrike.
In Gaza, the Israeli army said the humanitarian situation was “under control” as aid workers called for a permanent aid corridor to be opened.
The United Nations humanitarian agency, known by its acronym OCHA, said the convoy that entered Saturday was carrying around 4% of the average daily imports before the war and “a fraction of what is needed following 13 days of complete siege.” The organization requested that 100 trucks enter per day. There is a huge volume of aid material gathered on the Egyptian side of the border, but it is unknown when it can be brought into the territory.
US President Joe Biden said the United States, which has worked with other mediators to reach a deal in Rafah, “remains committed to ensuring that civilians in Gaza continue to have access to food, water, medical care and other assistance, without being diverted by Hamas.”
In a statement, he stated that the United States would work to keep Rafah open and allow American citizens to leave Gaza. But hundreds of people with foreign passports gathered at the crossing on Saturday were unable to leave following the convoy entered.
Dina al-Khatib, an American citizen, said she and her family were desperate to get out. “It’s not like previous wars,” she said. “There is no electricity, no water, no internet, nothing.”
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Magdy reported from Cairo and Krauss from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Amy Teibel in Jerusalem and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.
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