The humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens / Appeal to Israel to allow more aid

2023-10-31 15:08:23, Kosova & Bota CNA

Israeli military operations in Gaza continue as the humanitarian crisis deepens and calls for Israel to allow more aid have increased. Meanwhile, as "Voice of America" ??correspondent Linda Gradstein reports, the families of the kidnapped hostages fear that operations from the ground increase the risk of those in the hands of Hamas.

Israeli forces announced on Tuesday that they were engaged in "fierce battles" with Hamas militants inside the Gaza Strip as they continued to pound the Palestinian territory with airstrikes and artillery.

Israel also says it has killed dozens of Palestinian militants, including four senior Hamas operatives.

The expanded Israeli ground operation is being carried out amid a growing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian health ministry said the death toll since Israeli airstrikes began more than three weeks ago had passed 8,300, more than half of them women and children. Aid officials say Israel should allow more aid to enter Gaza.

"There should be no obstacles to humanitarian aid supplies going to children, women, men and civilians. They are innocent. They have rights under international humanitarian law. These rights are part of the Geneva Conventions", says the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

Israel says it is allowing humanitarian aid into southern Gaza, the area where more than 1 million Palestinians have been told to flee the war. Meanwhile, the Israeli military says Hamas is diverting aid and fuel and using hospitals as command centers instead of safe areas for civilians.

"Hamas has turned hospitals into command and control centers and shelters for terrorists and Hamas commandos. Also, I can confirm that according to the intelligence we have, there is fuel in Gaza's hospitals," said Daniel Hagari, spokesman for the Israeli army.

While most Israelis support the ground operation and the state's aim to eliminate Hamas, the families of more than 230 Israeli hostages worry that the ground operation could endanger the hostages.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met with the families of the hostages and assured them that increased military pressure on Hamas was the only option for their release.

But the son of Canadian-Israeli peace activist Vivian Silver, who is believed to be being held hostage in Gaza, disagrees with that approach.

"I don't think it works that way as war is chaotic. Besides, Hamas took the prisoners to use them as a pressure tool and if they lose that, then they don't need them anymore. So it seems to me that the ground operation causes more risk," says Mr. Zeigen.

Israeli officials say they expect the war in Gaza to continue for several months./ VOA