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- According to the UN agency, 19,646 people have been displaced in Lebanon since October 8
GAZA/JERUSALEM, Oct 23 (Portal) – Israel shelled hundreds of targets in Gaza from the air on Monday as its soldiers battled Hamas militants in raids in the besieged Palestinian enclave, where the death toll is rising and civilians are suffering trapped in harrowing conditions.
Gaza’s health ministry said 436 people were killed in bombings in the past 24 hours, most of them in the south of the narrow, densely populated area near which Israeli troops and tanks have massed for a possible ground invasion.
The Israeli military said it struck more than 320 targets in Gaza in 24 hours, including a tunnel housing Hamas fighters, dozens of command and lookout posts, and positions for mortar and anti-tank rocket launchers.
With the territory’s 2.3 million residents lacking essentials, European leaders appeared poised to follow the United Nations and Arab nations in calling for a “humanitarian pause” in hostilities so that the Help can reach her.
The conflict is escalating beyond Gaza.
Israeli planes also bombed Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon, which like Hamas is allied with Israel’s long-time enemy Iran.
There were also clashes between the Israeli army and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. And Hamas fired more rockets at Israel.
The United Nations said desperate Gazans lacked food, water, medicine and shelter from the relentless attacks that have leveled swathes of the Hamas-ruled enclave.
Some aid flowed into Gaza through a border crossing, but only a small fraction of the amount needed.
The Health Ministry said at least 5,087 Palestinians were killed in the two-week attacks, including 2,055 children.
The Israeli bombardment was triggered by a cross-border attack by Hamas militants on Israeli communities on October 7, in which 1,400 people were killed and more than 200 taken hostage – the bloodiest episode in a single day since the founding of the State of Israel 75 years ago .
FIGHTING IN GAZA
Israel said its forces’ overnight incursions were partly to gather intelligence, with the whereabouts of the hostages unknown, and that they helped improve its military readiness.
“These raids are raids that kill terrorist squads as they prepare for our next phase in the war. These are raids that go into depth,” said military spokesman Daniel Hagari.
Hamas’ armed wing, the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, said its fighters engaged an Israeli force that had infiltrated the southern Gaza Strip, destroying two bulldozers and a tank and forcing the raiders to retreat.
[1/10]Palestinians inspect the remains of a mosque destroyed in Israeli attacks as the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas continues in the northern Gaza Strip, October 22, 2023. Portal/Anas al-Shareef acquire license rights
Israel did not comment on the incident.
The Al-Qassam Brigades also said it fired rockets at the southern Israeli cities of Ashkelon and Mavki’im. Warning sirens wailed on the Israeli side.
The Israeli military, the most powerful in the Middle East, faces a group that has built a large arsenal with Iran’s help, fighting in a crowded urban environment and using a vast network of tunnels.
The U.N. Humanitarian Office (OCHA) said about 1.4 million of Gaza’s population – more than half – are now internally displaced, with many seeking refuge in overcrowded U.N. shelters.
Israel has ordered Gaza residents to evacuate the north. But many of those who fled appeared to be returning north due to increasing bombing in the south and a lack of shelter.
“They told us to vacate your home and go to Khan Younis because it is safe… They betrayed us and bombed us,” said 18-year-old Dima Al-Lamdani, who lost her parents, seven siblings and four family uncles Family in an air raid after the family moved south.
SPREADING VIOLENCE
Early Monday, Israeli warplanes also struck two Hezbollah cells in Lebanon that planned to fire rockets and rockets into Israel, the Israeli military said. Israel also attacked a Hezbollah compound and an observation post.
The International Organization for Migration, a U.N. agency, said 19,646 people had been displaced in Lebanon since it began tracking the movements on Oct. 8.
In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, two Palestinians were killed in the Jalazone refugee camp near Ramallah, the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry said.
Local residents told Portal that Israeli forces raided the camp and arrested many people as there were clashes with armed men and some youths throwing stones. According to the Israeli military, 15 suspects were arrested, including ten Hamas operatives.
“Suspects threw explosive devices and stone blocks from rooftops at Israeli security forces, who responded with live ammunition. Hits have been detected,” it said in a statement.
A third aid convoy arrived at the Rafah border crossing from Egypt on Monday, increasing the number of 34 trucks in the previous two days.
The UN said aid received so far was just 4% of the daily average before hostilities.
European Union leaders will call for a ceasefire in Brussels later this week to allow aid to flow safely, according to a draft conclusion seen by Portal. They said they supported a similar call by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who visited Rafah last week. The Arab nations also want a ceasefire.
EU officials said the text could still change before the summit. Some countries have expressed reservations about calling for a ceasefire as it could be seen as a restriction on Israel’s right to self-defense.
Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza, Dan Williams and Emily Rose in Jerusalem; writing by Angus MacSwan and Nick Macfie; Edited by Andrew Cawthorne and Mark Heinrich
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