As diplomatic efforts multiply, casualty rates in Gaza and Israel worsen and the IDF prepares for a ground offensive.
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On the ninth day of the war between Israel and Hamas, Gaza authorities updated the death toll: 2,670 dead and 9,600 injured.
On the Israeli side, more than 1,400 people were killed and more than 3,400 were injured.
Israel is keeping Gaza City under pressure as hundreds of thousands of civilians have left the Gaza Strip and are still fleeing from the north to the south of the territory.
This Sunday, after a seven-day outage, Israel decided to restore water supplies in the Khan Younes region in the south of the Gaza Strip in order to attract more Palestinians.
Despite Hamas’ opposition to this evacuation, one million residents of this Palestinian territory of 2.4 million people have been displaced since the start of the conflict and Israeli attacks, the United Nations announced.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas compared the ongoing “expulsion” to the exodus of some 760,000 Palestinians following the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948.
But Israeli forces are ready to attack. More than 300,000 Israeli soldiers gathered along the Gaza demarcation line are just waiting for the government’s green light to start the ground offensive.
Meanwhile, Israeli artillery is shelling the Gaza Strip.
And in southern Israel, Sderot was evacuated for a land maneuver. It was emptied of all its civilians. It must be said that the city, located 12 km from Gaza, fired 364 rockets in a week, of which 162 were not intercepted. Roofs are torn off, street furniture is bent or burned, and the asphalt of the streets is sometimes perforated by rocket holes.
The southward exodus of Gazans and the expected ground offensive in an overpopulated area under tight Israeli siege are sparking criticism and concern in the international community.
Diplomatic efforts are being intensified in all directions to prevent the worst
Israel’s invasion of Gaza “could lead to genocide,” fear the Arab League and the African Union.
In Cairo, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi, with whom he is trying to negotiate the opening of a humanitarian corridor at the Rafah border crossing, which is still in the sights of Israeli hunters.
Antony Blinken assured that the US’s Arab allies wanted to prevent the conflict from spilling over and also expressed confidence that humanitarian aid could be directed to Gaza. Egypt proposed holding a regional and international summit on “the future of the Palestinian cause.”
Egypt and Jordan currently reject any further expulsion of Palestinians from their land.
Pope Francis has called for the “urgent” opening of humanitarian corridors for Gazans.
The Iranian foreign minister was received by the Emir of Qatar, Tamim al-Thani, before meeting exiled Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Doha.
Iranian Amir Abdollahian warned of the risk of the conflict expanding if the Israeli ground offensive continues.
“No one can guarantee control of the situation and the prospect of an expansion of the conflict” if Israel invades Gaza, he said.
Additional sources • AFP, AP