Palestine

GAZA/JERUSALEM, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Concerns about the risk of the Israel-Hamas war mushrooming into a wider Middle East conflict rose on Sunday with the U.S. sending more military assets to the region as Israel pummelled Gaza overnight and hit Hamas supporters in Lebanon and Syria.

Gaza's Health Ministry said 266 Palestinians, including 117 children, had been killed by Israeli air strikes in the past 24 hours in the enclave, to which Israel laid "total siege" after a deadly mass infiltration into Israel by Hamas gunmen on Oct. 7.

GAZA, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- At least 60 percent of the population in the Gaza Strip has been displaced as a result of the ongoing Israeli attacks, according to a UN organization.

"About 1.6 million people were forced to be displaced from their houses since the start of the current Hamas-Israel bloody conflict 15 days ago," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a press statement sent to Xinhua on Saturday.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The only thing worse than the screams of a patient undergoing surgery without enough anesthesia are the terror-stricken faces of those awaiting their turn, a 51-year-old orthopedic surgeon says.

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The border crossing between Egypt and Gaza opened Saturday to let a trickle of desperately needed aid into the besieged Palestinian territory for the first time since Israel sealed it off following Hamas’ bloody rampage two weeks ago.

Just 20 trucks were allowed in, an amount aid workers said was insufficient to address the unprecedented humanitarian crisis. More than 200 trucks carrying 3,000 tons of aid have been waiting nearby for days.

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel said Friday it does not plan to take long-term control over the Gaza Strip after an expected ground offensive to root out Hamas militants that rule the territory. The Israeli military punished Gaza with airstrikes, authorities inched closer to bringing aid to desperate families and hospitals, and Muslims around the world protested in solidarity with Palestinians.

19 October 2023; AA: As the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict enters its 13th day having claimed the lives of over 5,000 people, an Israeli academic says it is unlikely Tel Aviv will be held accountable for allegedly using disproportionate force in Gaza.

20 October 2023; MEMO: At least eight people were killed in an overnight Israeli airstrike on the Greek Orthodox Saint Porphyrius Church in Gaza city, which was sheltering hundreds of Palestinians, local media reported on Friday.

According to the official Wafa news agency, Israeli jet fighters bombed the Greek Orthodox Saint Porphyrius Church on Thursday night, killing eight Palestinians and injuring dozens more, the majority of whom were women and children.

19 October 2023; MEMO: The Israeli occupying forces, this morning, imposed a raid and a military blockade around the Nour Shams refugee camp, located east of the northern West Bank city of Tulkarm.

According to a Wafa correspondent, the military conducted home searches and used bulldozers to clear streets before imposing the blockade, severely restricting Palestinian residents’ movement.

GAZA/JERUSALEM, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told troops gathered at the Gaza border on Thursday that they will soon see the Palestinian enclave "from inside", suggesting an expected ground invasion with the aim of annihilating Hamas could be nearing.

Israel pounded Gaza with more air strikes following the Oct. 7 rampage by Hamas gunmen who killed 1,400 Israelis, as British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak followed U.S. President Joe Biden with a visit to demonstrate Western support for the war against Hamas militants.

GAZA, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- A senior female member of Hamas was killed on Thursday by an Israeli airstrike targeting her house in Gaza, Palestinian security sources said.

Hamas said in a press statement that Jameela Shanti, the only female member of the movement's political bureau, the highest-ranking body of the group, was killed during the intense Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian sources said 41 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Rafah, Khan Younis, and the central area of the Gaza Strip on Thursday.