Gazans have reported an increase in Israeli raids and shelling, and the Israeli military said Wednesday it had struck more than 50 targets in the past 24 hours. World Food Program officials have again warned of looming famine in Gaza, particularly in the north.
But the United Nations also offered a rare upbeat assessment of humanitarian aid shipments, saying a recent surge in deliveries has brought the number of food trucks entering Gaza to the highest levels since the start of the war.
The Israeli army announced on Tuesday that it had called up two reserve brigades for “offensive and defensive” missions inside Gaza. Some analysts see both the increased military activity and humanitarian blitz, as well as signs of new tent cities in central Gaza, as precursors to a Rafah invasion.
The Biden administration, which has pushed Israel for months to increase aid deliveries, has warned the government that it would not support an operation in Rafah that did not provide better protection for civilian refugees.
“The focus is back on Gaza and everyone is waiting for the next step,” said Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, an Emirati academic.
The families of Israelis still held hostage celebrated Passover with empty chairs at their Seder meals. Hundreds of people came out Monday evening to protest against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which they accuse of failing to reach a temporary ceasefire and an agreement to release the hostages, leaving the captives in the hands of Hamas and in danger for any attack on Rafah. .
Militants kidnapped 253 people in the October 7 surprise attack that also killed around 1,200 Israelis. A negotiated pause in fighting in November coincided with the release of 105 Israeli hostages and foreign nationals in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Enraged hostage advocates burned a symbolic Seder table near the prime minister’s home in Caesarea, according to local media. Others said they had incorporated their anger at the prime minister into their thoughts about biblical difficulties.
“Egypt had 10 plagues,” Maya Raviv said at a rally this weekend, referring to the story of the Exodus, told each year at Passover, “and Israel had one. It’s called Bibi Netanyahu.
Negotiations for a deal brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt have stalled, and in recent weeks the world’s attention has largely shifted from Gaza to an emerging escalation between Israel and Iran.
The two exchanged air attacks, raising fears that a regional war could break out. The Iranian barrage of more than 300 missiles and attack drones marked an unprecedented direct attack from Iran on Israeli soil. But a sudden coalition including American, European and Jordanian forces joined forces with Israel’s air defense system to destroy more than 99 percent of the munitions.
After Israel responded with a limited attack that reportedly damaged an Iranian air defense unit but caused no casualties, both sides appeared ready to withdraw. Attention has now returned to Gaza, leaving many observers predicting that Israel will move to fulfill its promise of a final offensive sometime after the Passover holiday.
Israeli attacks have killed more than 34,000 Gazans since the start of the war, according to Palestinian health authorities. Humanitarian groups continue to warn of deteriorating humanitarian conditions in the enclave.
“We are getting closer to a famine situation every day,” said Gian Caro Cirri, director of the World Food Program in Geneva, adding that Gaza residents could be six weeks away from crossing three critical famine thresholds: food insecurity, malnutrition and mortality.
United Nations leaders said a recent increase in humanitarian deliveries had given them some hope that famine could be averted. Philippe Lazzarini, head of the main United Nations aid agency for Palestinian refugees, said 310 aid trucks entered Gaza on Monday – some of them crossing through recently opened entry gates from ‘Israel – highest number since October 7.
“This must now be supported and further increased,” Lazzarini said in a message. on. “Famine in northern Gaza can only be avoided with significant and uninterrupted supplies. »
Gaza civilians have said they fear any improvement in food supplies could be wiped out by the return of intense military operations in the northern and central sections of the enclave.
More flour and other rations have become available in recent days, according to Anwar Rabhi, 51, who has been taking his family of seven children from one shelter to another since their home near Beit Lahia was destroyed early of the war. After the bombing resumed on Tuesday, they fled again.
This is maybe the 20th time I’ve moved from one place to another,” Rabhi told The Washington Post in a telephone interview. “Here we are moving and we don’t know if we will survive this wave or not.”
Morris reported from Berlin. Heidi Levin in Tel Aviv and Hazem Balousha in Cairo, Jordan, contributed to this report.
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