Daily Times

The Gaza media office reported Sunday that approximately 10,000 Palestinians have been killed or trapped under rubble since the onset of Israeli attacks on October 7.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health has raised the death toll from the ongoing Israeli aggression to 8008, with concerns of a significant increase as thousands are feared buried under debris. Arab media reported Sunday that 13 Palestinians were martyred and dozens injured in an Israeli attack on Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque of Deir al-Bila in central Gaza. Many houses adjacent to the mosque were also completely destroyed by the Israeli bombardment. Eyewitnesses reported that multiple children were also martyred in the Israeli barbaric bombardment. Israeli army warned Palestinians to evacuate the Al-Quds hospital and bombarded the areas near the hospital, Arab media reported.

The World Health Organization (WHO) expressed concern over the Israeli army’s threat to evacuate the hospital. It is impossible to evacuate the hospital without endangering the lives of the patients, WHO said. Furthermore, the Israeli army claimed that there is no shortage of food, water and medicine in Gaza, a claim that has been contested by their ally USA.

US officials said that according to reliable international partners in Gaza, shortages of food, water, and medicine persist in the area. US national security spokesman Jack Sullivan Kabayan said Sunday that Israel must distinguish between Palestinian citizens amid the ongoing conflict. He added that Hamas fighters and that Israel should take all possible measures to keep civilians and combatants separate in the Gaza conflict.

Sullivan added that the Israeli Prime Minister also called for an end to the violence of extremist Jewish settlers against the people of the West Bank. On the other hand, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported that 94 trucks of relief goods have arrived in Gaza from Rafah Crossing, with ten more trucks to arrive soon. Aid trucks coming to Gaza do not include fuel. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Israel has a responsibility to protect the lives of innocent people in Gaza.

US President Joe Biden’s administration has been under increasing pressure to make clear that its steadfast support of Israel does not translate into a blanket endorsement of all that its ally is doing in the impoverished enclave in retaliation for the October 7 attack by Hamas. In a round of television interviews, Sullivan said Washington was asking hard questions of Israel, including on issues surrounding humanitarian aid, distinguishing between terrorists and innocent civilians and how Israel is thinking through its military operation.

“What we believe is that every hour, every day of this military operation, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces), the Israeli government should be taking every possible means available to them to distinguish between Hamas terrorists who are legitimate military targets and civilians who are not,” Sullivan said on CNN.

The US has been clear on that issue and Biden will reiterate the position in a call later on Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Sullivan said.

Sullivan also said Netanyahu has a responsibility to “rein in” extremist Jewish settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. “It is totally unacceptable to have extremist settler violence against innocent people in the West Bank,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Red Crescent (PRC) said it has received warnings from Israeli authorities to immediately evacuate al-Quds hospital in the Gaza Strip. “Since this morning, there has been raids 50 meters away from the hospital,” it added in a statement on Facebook.

Gaza’s 2.3 million residents are also grappling with shortages of food, water and medicine due to Israel’s blockade of the enclave. Only a few aid trucks have crossed into Gaza since the opening of the Rafah crossing point last weekend. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Saturday that Gaza’s “still functioning hospitals are on the verge of collapse” amid a lack of electricity and medical supplies.

“The immediate imperative must be to save lives and preserve humanity, including by ensuring hospitals can operate in safety,” ICRC said in a statement.

It said its medical team that arrived Friday in Gaza is not enough to address the “tragedy unfolding.”

“It is unacceptable that civilians have no safe place to go in Gaza amid the massive bombardments, and with a military siege in place there is also no adequate humanitarian response currently possible,” said ICRC president. “This is a catastrophic failing that the world must not tolerate.”

ICRC reiterated that it continues dialogue with relevant parties “to find solutions to the most pressing humanitarian issues, such as protecting civilians and helping the wounded.” The Palestinian health ministry had earlier said 12 hospitals and 32 health care centers were forced out of service due to Israeli bombing or lack of fuel and medical supplies.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Sunday that the situation in Gaza is declining rapidly as he repeated desperate appeals for a ceasefire to end the “nightmare” of bloodshed.

“The situation in Gaza is growing more desperate by the hour. I regret that instead of a critically needed humanitarian pause, supported by the international community, Israel has intensified its military operations,” Guterres said during a visit to Nepal’s capital Kathmandu.

“The number of civilians who have been killed and injured is totally unacceptable.”

After weeks of heavy bombardment of Gaza, which the Palestinian health ministry said has claimed over 8,000 lives, the Israeli army said “stage two” of the war started with ground incursions since late Friday.

“The world is witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe taking place before our eyes,” Guterres added.

“More than two million people, with nowhere safe to go, are being denied the essentials for life — food, water, shelter and medical care — while being subjected to relentless bombardment. I urge all those with responsibility to step back from the brink.” The UN’s top diplomat arrived in Nepal on a four-day visit following talks in Qatar.

“I reiterate my appeal for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages and the delivery of sustained humanitarian relief at a scale that meets the needs of the people of Gaza, he said.