2023-10-24 08:29:04
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel has stepped up its bombing of targets in the Gaza Strip, the military said Tuesday, ahead of an expected ground offensive against Hamas insurgents that the United States fears could spark a broader conflict in the Gaza Strip. region, including attacks on US troops.
The escalation of attacks and the rapid increase in deaths in Gaza came after Hamas freed two elderly Israeli women who were among hundreds of hostages captured during its devastating October 7 assault on towns in southern Israel.
In the midst of a flurry of diplomatic activity in Israel since the start of the war, French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, where he met with relatives of others held in Gaza before meeting senior Israeli officials.
Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been left without food, water and medicine since Israel sealed the territory following the attack. A third small aid convoy entered the enclave on Monday carrying a small fraction of the cargo aid groups consider necessary.
As Israel continues to ban the entry of fuel, the United Nations says aid distribution will soon come to a halt when there is no more fuel for trucks within the territory. Hospitals, overwhelmed by the number of injuries, are having trouble keeping generators running that power vital medical equipment and incubators for premature babies.
The two freed hostages, Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, and Nurit Cooper, 79, left Gaza through the Rafah border crossing towards Egypt, where they were loaded into ambulances, according to images shown on Egyptian television. The women, along with their husbands, were taken from their homes in the Nir Oz kibbutz, near the Gaza border. Their husbands, aged 83 and 84, were not released.
“While I cannot put into words the relief I feel knowing that he is safe, I remain focused on achieving the release of my father and all of the 200 or so innocent people still held in Gaza,” said Lifshitz’s daughter, Sharone. Lifschitz, in a statement.
The women were released days later by an American woman and her teenage daughter. Hamas and other insurgents in the Strip are believed to have taken about 220 people hostage, including an unconfirmed number of foreign and dual nationals.
The fighting has left more than 1,400 dead in Israel, mostly civilians killed during the initial Hamas assault.
More than 5,000 Palestinians, including some 2,000 minors and around 1,100 women, have lost their lives, according to data from the Ministry of Health, controlled by Hamas. This includes the controversial toll of a hospital explosion last week. The number has increased rapidly in recent days and the ministry reported 436 more deaths in the last 24 hours.
At least 1.4 million Palestinians in Gaza have fled their homes, and nearly 580,000 of them are taking refuge in UN-run schools and shelters, the institution said Monday.
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Magdy reported from Cairo and Nessman from Jerusalem. Associated Press journalists Wafaa Shurafa in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip; Aamer Madhani in Washington, Amy Teibel in Jerusalem and Brian Melley in London contributed to this report.
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