As the vicious Israeli bombardment of Gaza continues, reports of the Palestinian death toll in Gaza reaching 8,306 continue to raise the question of when this madness will end. In the occupied West Bank, more than 110 Palestinians have been killed in violence and Israeli raids.
Israel’s military said it had struck more than 600 targets over the past few days as it expanded ground operations in the Gaza Strip, where Palestinian civilians are in dire need of fuel, food and clean water as the war enters its fourth week.
According to recent reports, Israel has expanded its military incursion deeper into the northern part of the Gaza Strip as the United Nations and medical staff expressed fears over air strikes hitting closer to hospitals, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have sought shelter alongside thousands of wounded. The largest convoy of humanitarian aid to arrive in Gaza still fell far short of needs, relief workers said.
Meanwhile, 75 aid trucks reportedly arrived on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with Gaza yesterday, according to a statement by the Secretary-General of North Sinai Governorate, Osama Al Ghandour, CNN reported. It stated that 60 of those trucks are currently undergoing security checks, while the remaining 15 are waiting to be inspected.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society revealed that only 118 trucks have been received so far inside the Gaza Strip “due to the complex inspection procedures imposed by Israel, which impedes the arrival of aid to Gaza.”
Despite widespread calls for de-escalation, Israel has maintained its ban on the entry of fuel into the Gaza Strip. Emboldened by support from Western powers, Israel imposed a complete closure on Gaza from the two crossings it controls, leaving the Rafah crossing from Egypt as the only entry to the strip.
After intense mediation and negotiation, aid has trickled into Gaza for more than a week after the first convoy of trucks entered through the Rafah crossing on October 21. However, UN officials have warned that the current levels of aid are a “drop in the ocean” of the needs of over 2 million Palestinians living in Gaza, and the initial deliveries did not include vital fuel supplies.
When will civilians be stopped being used as pawns in power games and the irresponsibility of a state? The international community is already complicit, but humanity should always prevail no matter what — aid must get to Palestinians, and Israeli aggression must be called to order.
