In devastating revenge for the deadly October 7th attack by Hamas terrorists, Israeli warplanes bombed the Gaza Strip, neighborhood after neighborhood, on the weekend, destroying buildings and sending people fleeing for safety in the small, cut-off area.
Humanitarian organizations urged for the construction of aid corridors into Gaza and issued a supply warning for hospitals that were overflowing with injured patients. Food, fuel, and medical supplies can no longer be imported into Gaza by Israel, while the only route from Egypt was closed on Tuesday as a result of airstrikes near the border crossing.
It is anticipated that the war, which has already taken at least 1,900 lives on both sides, will worsen. Israel is more determined than ever to break the group’s hold in Gaza after the weekend attack, which Hamas claimed was retaliation for the deteriorating conditions for Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. On Tuesday, extremists in Lebanon and Syria fired new rounds of ammunition over Israel’s northern borders, raising the possibility of a regional battle spreading.
On Saturday morning, Hamas militants invaded Israel, killing hundreds of people in houses and streets close to the Gaza border and igniting gunfights in Israeli towns for the first time in decades. About 150 soldiers and civilians are being held prisoner in Gaza by Hamas and other militant organizations, according to Israel.
Israel increased its offensive on Tuesday, mobilizing an additional 360,000 reserve personnel. Israel’s military declared that it had effectively retaken control of the Gaza border and the southern regions that Hamas had attacked.
Rescue workers in Gaza said that “large numbers” of individuals remained buried beneath the rubble of demolished structures and were unable to be reached by rescue vehicles or ambulances.
After hours of airstrikes the previous night, a sizable portion of Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood was reduced to ruins on Tuesday. Residents discovered structures that had been cut in half or reduced to concrete and rebar piles. On residential streets that were turned into moonscapes, cars were destroyed, and trees were burned out.
In a new tactic, Israel is warning civilians to evacuate neighborhood after neighborhood and then inflicting devastation in what could be a prelude to a ground offensive. On Tuesday, the military told residents of the nearby al-Daraj neighborhood to evacuate. New explosions soon rocked it and other areas, continuing into the night.
In all, dozens of fighter jets hit more than 70 targets in the area, according to Israeli military officials, who said Hamas had directed attacks against Israel from the neighborhood.
Four previous rounds of Israel-Hamas fighting between 2008 and 2021 all ended inconclusively, with Hamas battered but still in control. This time, Israel’s government is under intense pressure from the public to topple Hamas, a goal considered unachievable in the past because it would require a reoccupation of the Gaza Strip, at least temporarily.
