Israeli government asks military to prepare for entry into Gaza

Nmeeting with Israeli foot soldiers on the Gaza border, Yoav Gallant urged military forces to “organize and be ready” for an entry order.

Israel concentrated tens of thousands of soldiers along the border after an attack carried out by militants from the Islamist group Hamas, on October 7, which left around 1,400 victims, mainly civilians.

In preparation for a ground incursion, Israeli airstrikes today hit sites across the Gaza Strip, including parts of the south that Israel had declared safe zones, raising fear among more than two million Palestinians.

With authorities still working out the logistics of delivering aid from Egypt to Gaza, overwhelmed hospitals tried to scramble medical supplies and fuel for diesel generators to keep the equipment running.

Doctors in dark wards stitched wounds by cellphone light, and a doctor at the largest hospital in Gaza reported that staff used vinegar from the corner store to treat infected wounds.

Israel’s consent for Egypt to allow the entry of food, water and medicine provided the first possibility for an opening in its isolation from the territory.

Many of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents eat just one meal a day and drink dirty water.

Israel has not declared fuel as a permitted humanitarian aid item, but a senior Egyptian security official said its government was negotiating the supply of fuel to hospitals.

Gaza’s Health Ministry appealed to gas stations to give any remaining fuel to hospitals, and the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, donated some of its remaining fuel to those hospitals, according to spokeswoman Juliette Touma.

At least 80 injured civilians and 12 dead were taken to hospitals this morning after witnesses reported that an attack hit a residential building in Khan Younis.

The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry said 3,785 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, most of them women, children and the elderly.

Nearly 12,500 other people were injured and another 1,300 people are believed to be buried under the rubble, health authorities said.

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