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Israeli ground troops pushed toward Gaza City Thursday amid continued diplomatic efforts to bring about a brief stop in the fighting and a worsening humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave.
U.S. President Joe Biden Wednesday urged a “humanitarian pause” in the war between Israel and Hamas militants. “A pause means give time to get the prisoners out. Give time,” he said.
Hamas took more than 240 hostages during its attack on Israel October 7. Israel says the attack killed 1,400 people. Israel declared war on Hamas after the attack and the constant bombardment on Gaza has killed thousands of Palestinians. The Hamas-run Palestinian health ministry says the death toll has surpassed 9,000.
The first group of foreign nationals, who have been trapped in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war, began leaving the besieged territory for Egypt Wednesday. More of them left Thursday.
The reopening of the Rafah border crossing to allow foreign passport holders to leave was part of a Qatari-brokered deal between Israel, Egypt and Hamas. At least 400 foreign nationals will be allowed to cross into Egypt.
In addition to the foreign nationals, about 81 injured Palestinians were taken by ambulance from Gaza to receive treatment in Egyptian hospitals. The patients are the first known Palestinians allowed out of Gaza since the war began.
Israel has continued airstrikes in Gaza, with strikes Tuesday and Wednesday on the heavily populated area around the Jabaliya refugee camp. Israel said it was targeting a very senior Hamas commander in the area.
Hamas claimed there were no commanders at the camp. Gaza’s Hamas-run media office said 195 Palestinians were killed in the strikes.
Israel accuses Hamas, designated a terrorist group by the United States and others, of using civilians as shields and having a sprawling network of tunnels underneath Gaza, where it is believed to be stockpiling weapons, food and other supplies.
“The secretary-general is appalled over the escalating violence in Gaza, including the killing of Palestinians, including women and children, in Israeli airstrikes in residential areas of the densely populated Jabaliya refugee camp yesterday and today,” Antonio Guterres’ spokesperson told reporters Wednesday.
The U.N. human rights office said given the high number of civilian casualties and the scale of destruction following Israeli airstrikes on the Jabaliya refugee camp, “we have serious concerns that these are disproportionate attacks that could amount to war crimes.”
The attack on Jabaliya angered several of Israel’s Arab neighbors.
Jordan’s foreign minister recalled the kingdom’s ambassador to Israel and said Israel’s envoy, who departed Amman earlier, should not return “for the time being.”
The United Arab Emirates, which normalized relations with Israel in 2020, said the attack will lead to “irreparable ramifications in the region.” Saudi Arabia condemned the attack as “inhumane,” and Iran’s Foreign Ministry called the attack a war crime.
The IDF said Wednesday it has “struck over 11,000 targets belonging to terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip” since the start of the war — an average of more than 440 strikes per day.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement saying Israel is "in a difficult war,” but vowed “we will continue until victory.”
Israeli airstrikes on top of a blockade have led to a dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The U.N. said 59 more aid trucks with water, food and medicine entered Gaza earlier this week, bringing to 217 the number that have crossed since October 21. Gaza is home to more than 2.2 million people. But the U.N. says fuel needed to transport aid and power hospitals is still being banned by Israel, which fears it will be diverted by Hamas.
The U.N. chief repeated his call Wednesday for the delivery of “vital humanitarian assistance at a scale needed to meet the mounting needs of the Palestinian population.”
Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of UNRWA, the U.N. agency that assists Palestinians, visited southern Gaza through the Rafah crossing Wednesday. He is the most senior U.N. official to be allowed into Gaza since the war began.
UNRWA, which has 13,000 Palestinian staffers in Gaza, has lost 70 aid workers since October 7. Lazzarini said staff told him that fuel and a humanitarian pause are urgently needed.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Israel and Jordan Friday.