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Palestinian officials say hundreds were killed by a massive blast at a Gaza hospital on Tuesday, as humanitarian concerns mount over Israel’s deprivation of food, fuel and electricity to the enclave’s population.
Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital was sheltering thousands of displaced people when it was bombed Tuesday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement. Many victims are still under the rubble, it added.
Palestinian officials blamed ongoing Israeli airstrikes for the lethal incident. But the Israel Defense Forces has “categorically” denied any involvement in the hospital attack, blaming instead a “failed rocket launch” by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, a rival Islamist militant group in Gaza.
“We did not strike that, and that the intelligence that we have suggests that it was a failed rocket launch by the Islamic Jihad, and I want to add, categorically, that we do not intentionally strike any sensitive facilities, any sensitive facilities, and definitely not hospitals,” Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus told CNN.
Gaza has been under siege by Israel for more than a week, in response to the deadly incursion by Hamas, the Islamist militant group that controls the coastal enclave, home to 2.2 million people. Hospitals meanwhile are struggling to tend to the wounded across the territory, operating with shortages of electricity and water.
Vital humanitarian aid is meanwhile piling up at Gaza’s shuttered border, despite diplomatic efforts to open a corridor from Egypt. The United Nations and other officials have said they need assurance of safe passage for any potential aid convoys.
Amid growing international pressure to address the crisis, US President Joe Biden will travel to Israel on Wednesday, an extraordinary wartime visit that follows intense efforts by Secretary of State Antony Blinken across the Middle East.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas canceled a planned meeting with US President Joe Biden after the hospital attack, saying he would instead travel back to Ramallah for an urgent meeting of the Palestinian leadership.
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An injured person is assisted after Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital was bombed on Tuesday.
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The Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in the center of Gaza City was sheltering thousands of displaced people who were forcibly evacuated from their homes by the occupation, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.
Hamas, which controls the enclave, said more than 500 people were killed by the bombing. The Palestinian Health Ministry earlier said preliminary estimates indicate that between 200 to 300 people died in the attack.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blamed the “barbaric terrorists in Gaza” for “attacking” the hospital on Tuesday.
“Whoever brutally murdered our children is also murdering their children,” he added.
Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Scores of injured people are being taken to Al-Shifa Hospital following the bombing of Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital.
More than a week of Israeli bombardment has killed at least 3,000 people, including 1,032 girls and 940 boys, and wounded 12,500 in Gaza, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said Tuesday. Casualties in Gaza over the past 10 days have now surpassed the number of those killed during the 51-day Gaza-Israel conflict in 2014.
While the IDF has said it does not target hospitals, the UN and Doctors Without Borders say Israeli airstrikes have struck medical facilities, including hospitals and ambulances.
On Tuesday, Israeli warplanes hit two densely populated refugee camps and an UNRWA school housing displaced people in central Gaza killed at least 18 people and injured scores, Palestinian officials said.
The IDF said that high-level Hamas commander Ayman Nofal was killed in the airstrikes in Gaza on Tuesday.
In the occupied West Bank at least 61 people have been killed, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said on Tuesday. At least 20 humanitarian workers from the UN, the Red Cross and the Red Crescent have been killed in Gaza, the UN said.
Meanwhile, health services within Gaza are on the brink and food and water supplies are running low. Twenty out of 23 hospitals were offering partial services because fuel reserves are “almost totally depleted,” the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) warned on Tuesday.
UN agencies have warned that shops are less than a week away from running out of available food stocks and that that Gaza’s last seawater desalination plant had shut down, bringing the risk of further deaths, dehydration and waterborne diseases.
Hospitals have been receiving dozens of bodies from different areas of south Gaza, the director of Gaza hospitals, Dr. Mohammad Zaqout, told CNN. The toll includes dozens of victims from air strikes in Rafah.
The Palestinian Interior Ministry said Israeli airstrikes had killed at least 49 people in strikes on the southern Gaza cities of Rafah and Khan Younis.
IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus told CNN he was “not aware of any strikes specifically in those areas but they could have happened.”
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Israeli soliders ride in their armoured vehicles towards the border with Gaza on October 16.
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Palestinians wait to cross into Egypt at the Rafah border crossing in Gaza on October 16.
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People hold Israeli flags as friends and family mourn Dor Reder at his funeral in Beit Kama, southern Israel, on October 16.
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Palestinians carry a person wounded in Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Monday, October 16.
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People prepare to board a ship that will transport US nationals and their immediate family members from Haifa, Israel, to Cyprus on October 16.
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Mourners carry the body of a Palestinian youth during his funeral in Nablus, West Bank, on October 15.
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Israeli army soldiers patrol at an undisclosed position in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon on October 15.
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People carry children as they flee following an Israeli strike on Rafah in southern Gaza on Sunday, October 15.
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People react at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City on Saturday, October 14.
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Eli Albag cries over the photograph of his daughter Liri, as he gathers with others during a protest demanding the release of more than 100 Israelis who were abducted during last week’s Hamas attack, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 14.
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Leaflets dropped from Israeli army planes fall over Gaza City on Friday, October 13.
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An Israeli soldier looks inside a house that was overrun by Hamas militants in Be’eri, Israel, on October 13.
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Palestinians rescue a wounded man from the rubble of a destroyed building following an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, Gaza, on October 13.
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Israeli artillery fires on the Israel-Gaza border on October 13.
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Israelis take cover after hearing warning sirens of incoming rockets fired from Gaza in Rehovot, Israel, on October 13.
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Fire and smoke rise above buildings in Gaza City during an Israeli air strike on October 13.
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A Palestinian child is injured during bombing in Gaza on October 13.
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Palestinians flee from northern Gaza to the south after the Israeli army issued an evacuation warning to seek refuge in the south, on October 13.
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Mourners attend the funeral of Israeli soldier Abraham Cohen at the Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem on Thursday, October 12.
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Israeli soldiers patrol near Kibbutz Be’eri, Israel, on October 12.
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Family members of Valentin Ghnassia react during his funeral ceremony at the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem on October 12. Ghnassia was killed in a battle with Hamas militants in Be’eri, Israel.
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An Israeli soldier patrols near the Nova music festival grounds near Be’eri, Israel, on October 12.
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An Israeli military helicopter flies near the border between Gaza and Sderot, Israel, on October 12.
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Palestinians seek shelter in Khan Younis, Gaza, after a house next door was hit by an Israeli airstrike on October 12.
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A morgue worker arranges body bags at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on October 12.
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Smoke plumes billow during Israeli air strikes in Gaza City on October 12.
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A Palestinian woman covered in dust and dirt carries a child in Gaza City on October 12.
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An Israeli soldier walks by a house destroyed by Hamas militants in Kibbutz Be’eri on Wednesday, October 11.
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An Israeli army self-propelled howitzer fires rounds near the border with Gaza in southern Israel on October 11.
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People carry bodies of Palestinians killed during an Israeli airstrike prior to their burial in Khan Younis, Gaza, on October 11.
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An aerial view of buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes at the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza City on October 11.
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Mourners react beside the body of Mapal Adam during her funeral in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 11.
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Palestinians run from Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, Gaza, on October 11.
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Israeli soldiers load donated food into the back of a military vehicle in Sderot, Israel, on October 11.
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A mourner reacts while burying a child from the al-Agha family, who were killed in Israeli strikes in Khan Younis, Gaza, on October 11.
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A boy carries salvaged belongings from the wreckage of his family’s home in Khan Younis, Gaza, on October 11.
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Smoke rises after Israeli strikes on the seaport of Gaza City on Tuesday, October 10.
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Palestinians mourn during the funeral of a relative killed in an Israeli strike, in Gaza City on October 10.
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Israeli soldiers take position in Kfar Aza near the border with Gaza on October 10.
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Palestinians rescue a young girl from the rubble of a destroyed residential building following an Israeli airstrike on October 10.
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Stranded travelers wait to be booked on a flight at Ben Gurion International Airport outside Tel Aviv on October 10.
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Palestinians walk amid the rubble following Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on October 10.
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Israelis in Ashkelon take cover in a shelter as a siren sounds a warning of incoming rockets on October 10.
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People gather around the bodies of two Palestinian reporters, Mohammed Soboh and Said al-Tawil, who were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on October 10.
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Israelis mourn as they attend the funeral of Israel Defense Forces soldier Noam Elimeleh Rothenberg at Mount Herzel Cemetery in Jerusalem, on October 10.
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A Palestinian man reacts as he carries the body of his cousin who was pulled from the rubble after Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on Monday, October 9.
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A family takes shelter at a neighbor’s house after their home was damaged in an Israeli airstrike in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza on October 9.
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Children run for cover as bombs fall near the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on October 9.
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A photo from a wedding is seen on the ground of a building in Ashkelon that was hit by rockets from Gaza on October 9.
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People take shelter in Jerusalem on October 9.
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The ruins of the Yassin mosque are seen in the Shati refugee camp just outside Gaza City on October 9.
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Friends and relatives of Ilai Bar Sade mourn next to his grave during his funeral at a military cemetery in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 9.
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Six-month-old Sama Alwadia is rescued from the rubble in Gaza City on October 9. Though the child had survived the initial strike, she died later while being treated for her injuries.
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Lightning strikes over Gaza City following an Israeli bombardment on October 9.
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Israeli soldiers take position near the border between Gaza and Israel on October 9.
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A Palestinian man mourns over the body of his nephew killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on October 9.
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Israeli security and emergency officials respond after a rocket landed in the Israeli settlement of Beitar Ilit, in the occupied West Bank, on October 9.
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Palestinians inspect the damage following an Israeli airstrike on the Sousi mosque in Gaza City on October 9.
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Israeli soldiers work on a tank at the border between Israel and Gaza on October 9.
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Palestinians remove a body from the rubble of a building after an Israeli airstrike on the Jebaliya refugee camp in Gaza on October 9.
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A plume of smoke rises in the sky over Gaza City during an Israeli airstrike on October 9.
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The mother of Israeli Col. Roi Levy cries during her son’s funeral at the Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem on October 9.
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Palestinians inspect damage from Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City’s Shati refugee camp on October 9.
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An injured Palestinian child is pictured in the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes at al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza on October 9.
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Israelis view a damaged residential building in Ashkelon after it was hit by a rocket fired from Gaza on October 9.
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Tali Touito reacts as she describes how Hamas gunmen attacked and took over the police station on her street, in Sderot, Israel, on Sunday, October 8.
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Fire and smoke rise from Gaza City following an Israeli airstrike on October 8.
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A relative of an Israeli missing since the attacks is overcome by emotion during a press conference in Ramat Gan, Israel, on October 8.
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Palestinians inspect a mosque destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, Gaza, on October 8.
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An Israeli soldier prays standing in front of a tank on the outskirts of the northern town of Kiryat Shmona on October 8.
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Israelis inspect the rubble of a building in Tel Aviv on October 8, a day after it was hit by a rocket fired from Gaza.
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Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from Gaza on October 8.
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Palestinians search the rubble of a home in Khan Younis that was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes on October 8.
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Palestinian citizens inspect damage to their homes caused by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on October 8.
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Rockets launched from Gaza are intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system on October 8.
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Palestinian children look toward the sky at the sound of airstrikes at a United Nations-run school in Gaza on Saturday, October 7.
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A woman runs to her family’s reinforced concrete shelter moments after rocket sirens sounded in Ashkelon on October 7.
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From the window of his family’s apartment, a man surveys damage from a rocket that struck a parking lot in Ashkelon on October 7.
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Palestinians gather around an Israeli army vehicle that Palestinian militants drove from Israel into Gaza on October 7.
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Palestinians break into the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, after gunmen infiltrated parts of southern Israel on October 7.
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Police officers evacuate a woman and a child from a site hit by a rocket in Ashkelon on October 7.
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Israeli police take cover in Ashkelon as sirens wail while rockets are fired from Gaza into Israel on October 7.
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Smoke rises over Gaza during Israeli airstrikes on October 7.
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An Israeli woman reacts over the body of her relative who was killed in the southern Israeli city of Sderot on October 7.
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Children are seen in a damaged house in Gaza after Israeli airstrikes on October 7.
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Vehicles in Ashkelon burn as rockets are launched from Gaza on October 7.
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A man in Ashkelon runs after rockets were launched from Gaza on October 7.
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Israelis donate blood in Jerusalem on October 7.
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Palestinians inspect a destroyed building as emergency responders try to contain fires after Israeli jets bombed Gaza on October 7.
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Outside of a hospital in Gaza, men sit next to the covered body of a Palestinian militant killed during Saturday’s clashes.
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Relatives of Palestinians killed on Saturday, October 7, mourn at the morgue of a hospital in Gaza.
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An Israeli soldier stands by the bodies of Israelis killed by Palestinian militants in Sderot on October 7.
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A woman stands in a room damaged by rockets in Ashkelon on October 7.
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A building in Tel Aviv is ablaze Saturday, October 7, following rocket attacks from Gaza.
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Smoke rises as the clashes between Palestinian groups and Israeli forces continue on the streets of Beit Hanun in Gaza on October 7.
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People take cover in a bomb shelter in Rishon Lezion, Israel, as rockets are launched from Gaza on October 7.
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Rockets are fired toward Israel from Gaza on October 7.
Urgent calls for help are growing on both sides of the crossing as aid amasses on the Egyptian side of the border.
Blinken on Tuesday said the the United States and Israel “have agreed to develop a plan that will enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organizations to reach civilians in Gaza.”
But on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, a miles long convoy of humanitarian assistance awaiting entry into Gaza, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told CNN.
“Until now, there is no safe passage that has been granted” as they do not “have any authorization or clear, secure routes for those convoys to be able to enter safely and without any possibility of their being targeted,” he said.
He added that the crossing was bombed four times in the past few days.
Beyond the border crossing, moving aid to those in need is extremely complex in Gaza, where Israeli airstrikes have repeatedly hit UN facilities in the past week.
“We need to have areas where humanitarians can move through safely, where people who are receiving humanitarian aid can receive that aid safely,” UN spokesman Dujarric told CNN in a press briefing Tuesday.
“The last thing you would want to see is creating distribution points where people receive that aid are not safe.”
WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris told CNN the UN health agency had struck an agreement with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to open the Rafah crossing for aid – but Israel’s strikes rendered the facility unsafe, thereby halting the movement of crucial supplies.
On Tuesday, Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the only things that should be entering Gaza “are hundreds of tons of explosives from the Air Force, not an ounce of humanitarian aid” until Hamas releases hostages, he wrote on Telegram.
On the Gaza side, large numbers of evacuees have gathered by the crossing, part of the mass displacement that has seen at least 1 million people flee their homes in the past week alone, according to UNRWA.
One family of five Palestinian-Americans, all US citizens, drove to Rafah on Monday after hearing the borders would be opened but to no avail, said Haifa Kaoud, whose husband Hesham is among the five stuck in Gaza.
Satellite images provided by Maxar Technologies show four 30-foot (9-meter) craters blocking the roadway at the border crossing closest to the Egyptian gate, along with concrete slabs.
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Volunteers load food and supplies onto aid trucks on October 16, in North Sinai, in Egypt. Israeli strikes have blocked efforts to bring humanitarian aid into Gaza through the Rafah crossing.
Maxar Technologies
A satellite photo provided by MAXAR Technologies shows four 30-foot craters blocking the roadway at the Rafah border crossing closest to the Egyptian gate.
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People take refuge in Nasser Hospital, in Khan Younis, in Gaza, after Israeli strikes destroyed their homes, on Monday.
Diplomatic efforts have so far failed to ease the conflict. On Monday, the UN Security Council rejected a Russian resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire after it failed to get enough votes.
Several countries including the US, the United Kingdom and France voted against it because the draft did not condemn Hamas for the October 7 attack, which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said killed at least 1,400 people with scores taken hostage.
This includes French-Israeli woman, Mia Schem, who was shown in the first hostage video released by Hamas. Her mother, Keren Scharf Schem implored world leaders “to bring my baby back home” when speaking to reporters Tuesday.
CNN cannot independently verify where and when the video of Schem, 21, was taken and what condition she is currently in.
Regional leaders raised concerns of fighting between Israel and Lebanon’s powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah in the north, and Syria, as strikes at the border become a flashpoint for wider conflict.
The IDF said on Tuesday shots were fired towards several locations on the security fence between Israel and Lebanon.
At the same time, Iranian Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, warned if the “atrocities” against Gaza persist, “Muslims and resistance forces could lose patience,” and no-one would be able to prevent their actions.
After Hamas’ incursion on October 7, militants fired shots from Lebanon that were intercepted by Israel, leading to a deadly exchange of fire.
Adel Hana/AP
A Palestinian woman reacts to people wounded by Israeli airstriles, at Al-Aqsa hospital, in central Gaza, on October 15.
On Friday evening local time an Israeli strike killed Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah who was also from south Lebanon. The assault wounded at least six other reporters.
A CNN video analysis found that the journalists were wearing vest jackets clearly marked as press.
And on Tuesday, Israeli strikes killed at least four people in Alma al-Shaab, in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Red Cross said.
Two Hezbollah fighters were killed in confrontations on Tuesday, the militant group said. It is unclear whether they are part of the death toll reported by the Red Cross.
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