People’s desperation is growing – in Israel and on the Palestinian side. In Tel Aviv, relatives loudly remembered the Hamas hostages. The situation of the people in the Gaza Strip is dramatic.
Relatives of the hostages kidnapped in the Gaza Strip demonstrated in front of the Israeli Defense Forces headquarters in Tel Aviv. There were only a few hundred people, but their despair is great. Nobody here knows how the hostages are doing and what efforts are being made to get them released.
And then there are these reports from the Gaza Strip: Nine hostages have been killed there in Israeli bombing raids in the past 24 hours. This cannot be verified; the report comes from the Al Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas.
Desperate father in Kfar Azza
Avichai Brotz is a farmer from Kfar Azza, right on the Gaza Strip. Hamas terrorists kidnapped his three children and his wife:
I have fulfilled all my duties. I served in the Army and did reserve duty. Whenever I was called to work, I was there. I have fulfilled all duties. I live right in front of the border and am a farmer. I have done everything and I expect them to do what is expected of them now.
Main goal: defeat Hamas
By “they” he means the Israeli army leadership. But it is unlikely that the liberation of the approximately 150 hostages in the war against Hamas is the top priority – this is also how we have to understand army spokesman Daniel Hagari, who outlines the goals that were set politically as follows: “To defeat Hamas and the leaders of the organization after the massacre they committed on Saturday. This organization will not rule the Gaza Strip, either militarily or politically, in the future.”
This is apparently expected to happen in the next few hours and days, especially in the north of the Gaza Strip. The bombing there will probably be increased again and the deployment of ground troops will probably begin there.
How to evacuate full hospitals?
Civilians who did not follow the call to evacuate continue to live there, for example in United Nations schools. Other places cannot be evacuated, such as Al-Awda Hospital on the northern edge of Gaza City.
Clinic director Ahmed Mohanna told Al Arabiyha broadcaster: “Like other hospitals in the north, we were also informed that we should vacate the house. But we and the others are full of patients. And we said that we continue to receive patients and that we are here “To provide a service to the people. It is a completely unrealistic demand to evacuate a hospital full of patients.”
Aid supplies are stuck at the border
The situation is also difficult in the south of the Gaza Strip. The hundreds of thousands of people who have fled cannot be accommodated there. There is a lack of electricity, water and medical supplies.
There are trucks with humanitarian goods behind the border with Egypt, but they are not being allowed across the border. Apparently preparations are being made for foreign citizens to leave the country.
Many Palestinians have fled to the south of the Gaza Strip – there is a severe shortage there.
No water, no electricity, no bread
Kayet Bakra, who is queuing for water in Khan Youis, describes his situation as follows: “Water and electricity are turned off. Now children are bringing bottled water from the hospital. No water, no electricity, no bread – that’s how it is in Al Shifa Hospital. We can’t take this any longer. Israel caused this crisis, because of the war Israel doesn’t want to give us water or electricity.”
Meanwhile, Hamas continues to fire rockets at Israel. There were more injuries near the Gaza Strip, and the alarm was also raised for the greater Tel Aviv area.