Israel has vowed to step up its airstrikes on Gaza which have already killed nearly 4,500 Palestinians in the fortnight since Hamas militants breached the border and massacred some 1,400 Israelis.
“We will deepen our attacks to minimise the dangers to our forces in the next stages of the war. We are going to increase the attacks, from today,” an Israeli Defence Forces spokesperson said.
After days of geopolitical efforts, the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza finally opened on Saturday to allow desperately needed aid flow to Palestinians for the first time since Israel sealed off the territory.
But the Palestinian Red Crescent Society warned that, while the first 20 trucks of aid offered “a welcomed glimpse of hope”, they “represent “a drop in the ocean” of what is needed.
The enclave’s 2.3 million Palestinians have been rationing food and drinking filthy water, while hospitals say they are running low on medical supplies and fuel for emergency generators amid a territory-wide power blackout.