Hundreds more wounded and foreign passport holders hoped to escape the war-torn Gaza Strip on Thursday as Israeli forces bombed and fought intense ground battles with Hamas militants in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Ambulances were set to rush several dozen patients to Egyptian hospitals, and about 400 foreigners or dual nationals were expected to escape as the southern Rafah crossing was due to open for a second day, said border officials on both sides.
The Israeli army, which is also seeking to free around 240 hostages, said it had killed"dozens" of enemy forces as"terrorist cells in the northern Gaza Strip fired anti-tank missiles, detonated explosive devices and hurled grenades". The UN's top human rights body Wednesday decried"the high number of civilian casualties" and the massive scale of destruction and voiced"serious concerns that these are disproportionate attacks that could amount to war crimes".Although the United States backs Israel in ruling out a ceasefire now, President Joe Biden said he would support a humanitarian"pause" to help get the hostages out of Gaza.
Gaza's Hamas-ruled government said 195 were killed in Israeli strikes on Jabalia, a figure AFP could not independently verify. Israel has argued it is trying to avoid civilian casualties and has told residents to evacuate northern Gaza. It also says that Hamas has blocked many civilians from leaving and used them as"human shields".While the United States and other Western powers have largely backed Israel, anger has flared across the Arab and Muslim world against Israel and its allies.
With a propaganda war raging alongside the conflict, the Israeli army has sought to show the world that Jabalia was a legitimate military target.
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