- The Israeli military is returning fire from Syria with artillery and mortar shelling.
- Food, gasoline, and medication supplies cannot now enter Gaza from Israel.
- Israel has escalated its offensive, bringing the total number of reservists mobilized to 360,000.
In response to an attack by Hamas and gunfire exchanged with Lebanese Hezbollah, Israel is continuing its offensive in Gaza. The Israeli military is returning fire from Syria with artillery and mortar shelling.
The rocket attack was carried out by a Palestinian faction operating out of Syrian territory, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Food, gasoline, and medication supplies cannot now enter Gaza from Israel, while the only exit from Egypt was closed due to airstrikes that occurred close to the border crossing.
Israel’s return fire
It is anticipated that the conflict, which has killed at least 1,900 lives on both sides, will intensify. On Saturday morning, militants from Hamas invaded Israel, murdering hundreds of locals and introducing gunfights to Israeli cities for the first time in many years.
Israel has escalated its offensive, bringing the total number of reservists mobilized to 360,000. One uncertainty that remains is whether Israel would invade Gaza, a 40-kilometer territory that Hamas has controlled since 2007.
Israel’s strategy and goals are under scrutiny after Hamas launched rocket assaults on Ashkelon and Tel Aviv, two cities in the southern region of the country. There is tremendous pressure on the Israeli government to overthrow Hamas, a goal that was previously thought to be impossible because it would require a temporary reoccupation of the Gaza Strip.
The aim is for a distinct win at the end of the war, unlike in prior rounds. Palestinians are in a desperate situation as a result of constant Israeli rule, growing settlements in the West Bank, the blockade of Gaza, and international indifference.
A punitive Israeli escalation is one among the scenarios that Hamas officials claim they prepared for. Israel was taken aback by the terrorists’ strike, which resulted in more deaths than during the 1973 conflict between Egypt and Syria.
Thousands of people have been evacuated from southern Israel since Sunday. With 900 of those deaths occurring in Gaza and the West Bank, the Israeli military reported over a thousand deaths in Israel.
More than 2,000 individuals have left their homes in Gaza, the most number since an Israeli offensive in 2014. The bodies of 1,500 Hamas fighters were discovered on Israeli soil.
Most are seeking refuge in schools managed by the United Nations organization for Palestinian refugees. 4,000 individuals no longer have access to services due to damage to water and sanitation sites. The only way to enter Egypt from Gaza is through Rafah, and Egyptian authorities are working to establish humanitarian corridors so that aid may be delivered.
