FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
The United Nations was forced to freeze the delivery of food and other essential items to Gaza on Friday and warned of the risk of famine spreading, while internet and telephone services were cut due to power shortages.
The two-day communications blackout isolates Gaza's 2.3 million residents from each other and the outside world — and paralyzes aid coordination, which was already difficult due to fuel shortages before the blackout.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, was unable to get its aid convoy into the territory, spokeswoman Juliette Touma said. It is unclear how long this situation will continue, given that Israel is unlikely to allow additional amounts of fuel to enter anytime soon.
"A prolonged disruption means a prolonged suspension of our humanitarian operations in the Gaza Strip," Ms. Touma told The Associated Press.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces have signaled that they may expand their offensive towards the south of Gaza, while continuing operations in the north.
Troops have searched the largest Al-Shifa hospital for traces of a Hamas command center that the Israeli military says was located under the complex. They have shown footage of what they say is a tunnel entrance and weapons found inside the compound, but have yet to provide evidence of a command center, which Hamas and hospital staff say does not exist.
On Friday, the Israeli army said it found the lifeless body of a soldier who had been taken hostage in a building adjacent to Al-Shifa hospital, identifying her as Noa Marciano. The body of another hostage, Yehudit Weiss, was also found in the same place.
The war, now in its sixth week, began when Hamas, which the United States considers a terrorist organization, launched a bloody attack on Israel on October 7, killing more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 240 hostages. men, women and children.
Israel responded with a weekly air campaign and ground intervention in northern Gaza, aimed at ousting Hamas from power and crushing its military capabilities. More than 11,400 Palestinians have been killed, two-thirds of them women and children, according to Palestinian health authorities, under Hamas rule.
Another 2,700 are reported missing, most of whom are believed to have been buried under the rubble. These figures do not differentiate between the deaths of civilians and militants, and Israel says it has killed thousands of militants./ VOA
Lini një Përgjigje