By Nidal al-Mughrabi, Dan Williams and Humeyra Pamuk
GAZA/JERUSALEM/CAIRO (Portal) – Israeli forces continued their bombardment of the Gaza Strip on Monday after diplomatic efforts to agree a ceasefire to allow foreign passport holders to leave and bring aid supplies to the besieged Palestinian enclave failed.
Residents of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip said the overnight airstrikes were the heaviest yet as the conflict entered its 10th day and an Israeli ground offensive appeared imminent.
They said bombing continued throughout the day and many buildings were leveled, leaving more people trapped under the rubble. Israeli officials issued multiple warnings about Hamas rocket fire into Israel.
Diplomatic efforts have been made to bring aid to the enclave, which has been under relentless Israeli pressure since Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7 that killed 1,300 people – the bloodiest day in the state’s 75-year history was exposed to bombing.
But Israel’s top military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said there was no ceasefire in Gaza and Israel was continuing its operations.
“There are currently no such efforts. If anything changes, we will inform the public. We continue our fight against Hamas, the murderous organization that carried out these (the attacks).”
Israel has imposed a full blockade and is preparing a ground invasion to invade Gaza and destroy Hamas, which has continued to fire rockets at Israel since its brief cross-border attack. Rocket warning sirens sounded in several cities in southern Israel on Monday, the Israeli military said.
Israeli troops and tanks are already massed at the border.
According to authorities in Gaza, at least 2,750 people have been killed, a quarter of them children, and almost 10,000 have been injured by Israeli attacks so far. Another 1,000 people were missing and were probably lying under rubble.
With food, fuel and water running out, hundreds of tons of aid from several countries remain in Egypt until an agreement is reached to safely deliver them to Gaza and evacuate some foreign passport holders through the Rafah border crossing.
Earlier on Monday, Egyptian security sources told Portal that an agreement had been reached to open the border crossing to allow aid deliveries to the enclave.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement: “There is currently no ceasefire in Gaza and no humanitarian assistance in return for the departure of foreigners.”
Hamas official Izzat El Reshiq told Portal there was “no truth” to reports of the crossing opening or a temporary ceasefire.
Egypt said the border crossing had become inoperable due to Israeli bombings on the Palestinian side. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Monday that the Israeli government had not yet issued a statement allowing the border crossing to open.
Portal journalists said a small crowd had gathered at the border crossing, the only one not controlled by Israel, waiting to enter Egypt.
The United States had asked its citizens in Gaza to go to the border crossing. The US government estimates the number of Palestinian-American dual citizens in Gaza at 500 to 600.
Washington is also trying to secure the release of 199 hostages that Israel says were brought back to Gaza by Hamas. Among them are the elderly, women and children, as well as foreigners, including Americans.
US President Joe Biden sent military aid to Israel but also stressed the need to provide humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians and called on Israel to abide by the rules of war in its response to Hamas attacks.
HEAVY BOMBARDING
In northern Gaza, where Israel says Hamas militants are hiding in an elaborate network of tunnels, locals said Israeli planes bombed areas around the Al-Quds hospital early Monday. Surrounding houses were damaged, forcing hundreds of people to seek refuge in the Red Crescent hospital.
Israeli planes also bombed three Civil Emergency and Rescue Service headquarters in Gaza City, killing five people and crippling emergency services in those areas, health officials said.
Israel has urged Gazans to evacuate south, something hundreds of thousands have already done in the enclave, home to about 2.3 million people. Hamas has advised people to ignore Israel’s message, and residents also fear Israeli airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip.
In the southern Gaza Strip, five members of a family were killed in the Khan Younis refugee camp. Her neighbor, Suhail Baker, 45, said he was woken by the sound of an explosion.
“We woke up in horror and saw them dismembered. It took a long time to bulldoze the rubble and recover the bodies,” Baker said.
On a nearby street, Abu Ahmed, an elderly man sitting outside his home, said: “Israel has decided to kill every single one of us.”
Fuel reserves at all Gaza hospitals are expected to last only about 24 hours, putting thousands of patients at risk, the United Nations Humanitarian Office (OCHA) said early Monday.
More than a million people – nearly half of Gaza’s population – have been displaced within the enclave, the United Nations said, and are struggling to cope with their needs.
There was no electricity in Gaza for the fifth day in a row, putting vital services such as health, water and sanitation on the brink of collapse. People are consuming brackish water from agricultural wells, raising concerns about the spread of disease.
FLASHING IN ISRAEL
US officials have warned that the war between Israel and Hamas could escalate following cross-border clashes between Israel and militants from the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
As US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel for talks on Monday, Iran said the United States should be held accountable for its role in the conflict.
American aircraft carriers have flown into the region and Israel said on Monday it would evacuate residents of 28 villages on the border with Lebanon after one was attacked with rockets by the Iran-backed Hezbollah on Sunday. Israeli media said one civilian was killed.
Portal video journalist Issam Abdallah was killed on the Lebanese side of the border on Friday.
(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza, Ari Rabinovitch, Dan Williams, Henriette Chacar, Dedi Hayun, Maayan Lubell, Emily Rose, James Mackenzie and John Davison in Jerusalem, Parisa Hafezi in Dubai, Humeyra Pamuk, Hatem Maher, Ahmed Tolba and Omar Abdel-Razek in Cairo, Nandita Bose, Rami Ayyub and Katharine Jackson in Washington, Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; text by Angus MacSwan, editing by Miral Fahmy and Philippa Fletcher)