Israel yesterday pounded Gaza in an escalating air and ground campaign as the UN warned that civil order was “starting to break down” in the Palestinian territory.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu steeled the nation for a “long and difficult war” ahead as the Red Cross voiced shock at the “intolerable” human suffering inside Gaza.
Despite calls for a humanitarian ceasefire and outrage across the Muslim world, Israel has intensified the war triggered when Hamas militants stormed across the Gaza border on Oct. 7 in the deadliest attack in Israel’s history.
Photo: AFP
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said the unrelenting retaliatory Israeli bombardment has killed more than 8,000 people, mainly civilians and half of them children.
The Israeli military yesterday said that it had struck another 450 Hamas targets within the past 24 hours, and that it was increasing its ground forces in Gaza.
In a late-night televised address on Saturday, Netanyahu announced a “second stage of the war whose goals are clear: Destroying the military and leadership capabilities of Hamas, and bringing the hostages back home.”
Panic and fear have surged inside Gaza, where more than half of its 2.4 million residents are displaced, according to the UN, and thousands of buildings have been destroyed.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the situation was “growing more desperate by the hour,” as casualties increase and essential supplies of food, water, medicine and shelter dwindle.
He reiterated appeals for a ceasefire to end the “nightmare.”
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East yesterday said “thousands of people” broke into several of its warehouses and distribution centers in Gaza, grabbing basic survival items like wheat flour and hygiene supplies.
“This is a worrying sign that civil order is starting to break down,” it said.
Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, voiced shock at the “intolerable level of human suffering” in Gaza and urged all sides to de-escalate.
“This is a catastrophic failing that the world must not tolerate,” she said.
Israeli fighter jets again dropped leaflets over Gaza City on Saturday, warning residents that the northern area was now a “battlefield” and they should “evacuate immediately.”
Hamas authorities yesterday reported that a “large number” of people were killed overnight in strikes on two refugee camps in northern Gaza.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari reiterated that Palestinian civilians should go south “to a safer area where they can receive water, food and medicine.”
After 84 aid trucks entered the territory in the past few days, he vowed humanitarian efforts to Gaza would expand.
However, Ibrahim Shandoughli a 53-year-old from Jabaliya in northern Gaza, said: “Where do you want us to evacuate to? All the areas are dangerous.”
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College