With the frequent Israeli airstrikes and death toll rising, Gaza Strip is on an edge of a catastrophe. Reportedly, Israel on Tuesday carried out airstrikes in southern areas where it had asked the Palestinians to move ahead of the ground invasion.
With the border tensions intensifying, diplomatic efforts are on to settle or end the Israel-Hamas war.
Jordan will host a four-party summit in Amman with United States President Joe Biden, Egyptian and Palestinian leaders on Wednesday to discuss the "dangerous" repercussions of the war in Gaza.
With the Rafah crossing still closed due to repeated Israeli strikes, dozens of trucks with aid from the Egyptian side of the crossing is waiting to get into Gaza.
Over 3,000 people were killed since the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7. Israel has said that 199 Israeli hostages were taken by the Hamas. Iran has said that Hamas will be releasing the hostages once Israel end violence. Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) has informed the families of the 199 hostages, they believe, to be taken to Gaza.
Deepening humanitarian crisis
With the condition of Gaza deteriorating, it faces ‘imminent’ public health crisis. Hospitals were relying on ice cream trucks for keeping dead bodies as many are facing shortage of electricity.
Even Gazans are facing severe water shortages. Despite Israel agreeing to resume the water supply, many aid workers complain that they are facing water shortage.
Meanwhile, Gazans have been urged to donate blood as doctors battle with crippling medical shortages as humanitarian aid is unable to pass through the Rafah crossing.
Meanwhile, Hamas released a video of a hostage, Mia Schem, 21, Israeli French citizen. According to Hamas, Schem is among as many as ‘250 hostages’ being held in Gaza. She was heard in the video saying she was severely injured when she was taken from the party and they had performed a surgery on her injured hand. "Everything is fine," she told in the video.
Schem also said that she is hopeful that she will be released quickly.
Iran had again asked Israel to end atrocities in Gaza. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that Israel's continuing offensive in Gaza could cause a violent reaction across the region.
A deputy commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Ali Fadavi, has said on Iranian state media that: “The resistance front’s shocks against the Zionist regime will continue until this ‘cancerous tumour’ is eradicated from the world map. Another shockwave is on the way, if Israel does not end atrocities in Gaza.”
The United Kingdom's Prime Minister's office has urged Israel to allow water into Gaza while still refusing to clarify whether it believes the tactic to shut off the supply was in line with international law.
On Monday Israeli warplanes struck the headquarters of the Civil Defence in Gaza City, killing seven paramedics. According to health authorities, another 10 medics and doctors have been killed on the job.
As per United Nations, more than 1 million Palestinians have fled their homes, and 60% are now in the approximately 14-kilometre (8-mile) long area south of the evacuation zone.
Aid workers warned that the territory was near complete collapse as hospitals were on the verge of losing electricity, threatening the lives of thousands of patients, and hundreds of thousands of people searched for bread and water.
Some specialised cancer hospitals stopped working due to severe fuel shortages. According to a statement from Sobhi Skik, director general of the Turkish Friendship Hospital, the remaining wards will run out of fuel within two days.
An Egyptian official said Tuesday that Egypt and Israel agreed that the aid convoys at the border would travel into Israel for inspection at the Kerem Shalom crossing between Gaza and Israel.
Wael Abu Omar, Hamas' spokesman for the Rafah crossing, said: "Up until now, there is no agreement."
In Gaza, more than 400,000 displaced people in the south crowded into schools and other facilities of the UN agency for Palestinians. The agency said it has only 1 litre of water a day for each of its staff members trapped in the territory.
