Israel carried out airstrikes in southern Gaza early Sunday, stating it would ramp up attacks in the northern sector, while the United States pledged to deliver more aid to Palestinians facing shortages of food, water, medicine, and fuel. Palestinian media reported that at least 11 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli raid on the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. They also mentioned that Israel bombed the southern city of Rafah.
The nighttime strikes followed hours after Israeli military spokesperson Admiral Daniel Hagari urged Gaza residents to move south to avoid harm. Hagari, in a statement to Israeli reporters on Saturday, addressed the people of Gaza, saying, "For your safety, move south. We will continue attacking in the Gaza City area and increase strikes."
On Saturday, the Gaza Strip received its first humanitarian aid convoy allowed to enter through the Rafah border crossing since the war broke out. The United Nations stated that the convoy, consisting of 20 trucks carrying life-saving supplies, would be received by the Palestinian Red Crescent. However, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs noted that the amount of goods that entered on Saturday was equivalent to about 4 percent of the daily average of imports to Gaza before the crisis, representing only a small fraction of what is needed after 13 days of the siege on the 2.3 million residents of the region.
US President Joe Biden welcomed the arrival of aid after days of intensive negotiations, stating that the United States is committed to ensuring more assistance crosses through the Rafah border. Biden said in a statement, "We will continue to work with all parties."
Late Saturday, the United States proposed a draft resolution to the UN Security Council affirming Israel's right to defend itself and calling on Iran to cease exporting arms to "militias and terrorist groups threatening peace and security across the region."
Israel began its "comprehensive siege" on Gaza following the attack carried out by the Palestinian group Hamas on Israeli towns in the Gaza Envelope on October 7, resulting in the deaths of 1,400 people, most of whom were civilians, in an attack that shocked Israel. Gaza's health ministry reported yesterday that the Israeli aerial and missile strikes in response have resulted in the deaths of at least 4,385 Palestinians, including hundreds of children, and the displacement of more than one million residents of the sector.
**Ground Invasion on the Horizon**
Israel has mobilized tanks and troops near the border fence around Gaza in preparation for a planned ground invasion aimed at eliminating Hamas, following several inconclusive wars since the group seized power in the territory in 2007. In a video distributed by the Israeli army yesterday, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi told the troops, "We will enter the Gaza Strip to destroy Hamas fighters and Hamas infrastructure, considering the images that occurred on Saturday two weeks ago and the people who fell that day."
Footage released by the Israeli military yesterday showed Israeli forces conducting live-fire training "in preparation for the next phase of the war." Hamas stated that it launched rockets towards Tel Aviv yesterday in response to Israeli airstrikes which the Gaza health ministry and Hamas-affiliated media reported resulted in the deaths of at least 50 people and dozens of injuries.
The US State Department indicated that amidst growing international concerns about the possibility of the conflict expanding into a regional war, Secretary Blinken warned Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati in a call that the Lebanese people would be affected if their country became drawn into the conflict.
Israel indicated that its aircraft targeted Hezbollah positions in Lebanon yesterday, and one of its soldiers was injured by an anti-tank missile during cross-border fighting that the Iran-backed group claimed resulted in the deaths of six of its fighters. Palestinian paramedics reported that Israeli planes also bombed the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank early Sunday, resulting in the deaths of two Palestinians and injuries to several others.
