Non-stop Israeli air raids on Gaza have killed more than 150 Palestinians Thursday as Israel said it has dropped 6,000 bombs in six days of bombardment.
The sixth day of the war between Israel and Hamas saw a deepening of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and reported Israeli airstrikes in Syria targeting the Aleppo and Damascus airports.
The news came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv and pledged long-term support for Israel as it prepares for a ground incursion against Hamas.
As airstrikes intensified and the death toll soared to at least 1,300 Israelis and 1,350 Palestinians, Gaza’s only power plant was shut down, hospitals hit capacity, and more than 10% of the population has been displaced.
The Israeli military said it was preparing “for the next stage of the war,” with more than 300,000 reservists amassed on Gaza’s border.
Regional diplomacy picked up as UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed spoke with US President Joe Biden and Turkish President Reccep Tayyip Erdogan.
On Wednesday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed Gaza in their first-ever phone call.
Israeli airstrikes and Hamas rocket barrages continued on Thursday. Video footage on social media showed complete neighborhoods flattened in Gaza as the humanitarian crisis worsened under Israel’s blockade, with nearly 200,000 Gazans displaced.
6,000 bombs; 3,600 targets
Gaza is witnessing non-stop bombing from all directions – by air, sea, land, and from the north to the south.
Israel’s Air Force said it has hit over 3,600 targets in Gaza since Saturday. Israel had earlier stated it had dropped 6,000 bombs on the densely populated enclave.
“We will continue to attack forcefully and relentlessly, as long as necessary,” the air force said on X.
It has resulted in the displacement of more than 330,000 people. Hospitals have appealed to international humanitarian organizations to provide urgently needed medical assistance. Medical workers put a tent inside the hospital two days ago because the morgue was full.
“The situation is catastrophic, and people have lost all hope that things will get any better. They fear the worst scenario – the Israeli military entering Gaza – is about to happen,” an Al Jazeera journalist said.
Israel links Gaza aid to hostages’ release.
Israel said there would be no pause in its siege of the Gaza Strip for aid or evacuations until all its hostages were freed, as Washington urged it to protect civilians and the Red Cross warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in the enclave.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said fuel powering emergency generators at hospitals in Gaza could run out within hours.
“Without electricity, hospitals risk turning into morgues,” ICRC regional director Fabrizio Carboni said. “The human misery caused by this escalation is abhorrent, and I implore the sides to reduce the suffering of civilians.”
Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz said there would be no exceptions to the siege without freedom for Israeli hostages.
Egypt, which has a single border crossing with Gaza, said it was trying to allow aid there.
In the most significant sign of the conflict potentially spilling across borders, Syria said Israeli air strikes had hit the airports in Damascus and Aleppo, putting both out of service. The Israeli military said it does not comment on such reports.
Syria is a close ally of Iran, which sponsors Hamas and has celebrated the attacks while denying a direct role.
Abbas condemns violence
Abbas, whose Fatah faction is a longstanding foe of Hamas, condemned violence against civilians on both sides on Thursday.
“We reject the practices of killing civilians or abusing them on both sides because they contravene morals, religion, and international law,” the official Palestinian news agency Wafa quoted Abbas as saying.
In Gaza’s main southern city, Khan Younis, where cemeteries were already full, dead were buried in empty lots, like the Samour family, killed on Wednesday night in a strike that hit their house.
Relatives and friends found eight bodies at the morgue, with ten more still believed to lie under the rubble. The bodies were driven from the hospital in a truck covered with flowery blankets and lined up in white shrouds at a lot down the street from their destroyed home. Hundreds of men prayed nearby.
At the nearby hospital, a woman tried to calm a weeping girl whose house had been hit. The girl kept screaming, “My mother, I want my mother.” The woman took the girl in her arms.
In Gaza’s Al Shati refugee camp, residents were sifting through rubble with bare hands, looking for survivors and bodies. Rescue workers say they lack fuel and equipment to dig.
While Washington has strongly backed Israel, Blinken’s plan to meet Abbas shows it is still mindful of Palestinian grievances, strongly felt by Arab allies.
Gazans have suffered economic collapse and repeated Israeli bombardment under a blockade since Hamas came to power there 16 years ago.
Palestinian anger has mounted in recent months, with Israel carrying out the deadliest crackdown for years in the West Bank and its right-wing government discussing seizing more land.
A peace process meant to create a Palestinian state collapsed a decade ago, which Palestinian leaders say left the population with no hope, strengthening extremists.