Gaza: In besieged Gaza, Palestinians have crowded into hospitals and schools, seeking shelter and facing shortages of food and water.
Over a million people have fled their homes in anticipation of an Israeli ground invasion aimed at destroying Hamas after its fighters rampaged through southern Israel.
With diminishing supplies of food, water, and medicine in the enclave, attention is focused on the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
Trucks carrying much-needed aid have been waiting for days as mediators work towards a cease-fire that would allow them to enter Gaza and permit foreigners to leave. Rafah, Gaza’s sole connection to Egypt, was closed nearly a week ago due to Israeli airstrikes.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, stated that Israel has not indicated its intention to open the crossing from the Gaza side, and the Israeli government did not respond to the request for comment.
In U.N. facilities, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are receiving less than 1 liter (1 quart) of water per day, and hospitals warn they are on the verge of collapse.
Emergency generators powering essential machines such as ventilators and incubators have just about one day’s worth of fuel left, and medicine supplies are nearly exhausted.
The Gaza Health Ministry said 2,670 Palestinians have been killed and 9,600 wounded since the fighting erupted, more than in the 2014 Gaza war, which lasted over six weeks.
This marks the deadliest of the five Gaza wars for both sides.
In a little over a week, over a million people, about half of Gaza’s population, have left their homes. Some have gone to the south, while tens of thousands are still seeking shelter in hospitals and U.N. facilities in the north, according to the U.N.
However, travel within Gaza is challenging and perilous due to destroyed roads, and Israel only offers short windows for civilian travel without the threat of airstrikes.
The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees has been forced to ration water in schools and other facilities that have been turned into shelters, providing people with only 1 liter (1 quart) of water a day to cover all their needs.
Israel insists that the siege will not be lifted until Hamas releases all captives. Still, the country’s water ministry claimed that water had been restored at one specific point in Gaza, located outside the southern town of Khan Younis.
However, aid workers in Gaza have yet to see evidence of the water’s return.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military has ordered residents to evacuate 28 communities near the Lebanese border due to increased cross-border fire between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. This military order affects towns within 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) of the border.
US President Joe Biden To Travel To Israel
US President Joe Biden will travel to Israel on Wednesday to demonstrate his support for Israel in the aftermath of the Hamas attack, the White House announced Monday, adding that he would also travel to Jordan for a summit meeting with the heads of States of Jordan, Egypt and the president of Palestinian Authority.
“President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. will travel to Israel on Wednesday, October 18, to demonstrate his steadfast support for Israel in the face of Hamas’s brutal terrorist attack and to consult on next steps,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement on Monday night.
Biden will then travel to Amman, Jordan, where he will meet with His Majesty King Abdullah of Jordan, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
