Hundreds of dual passport holders and dozens of seriously injured Palestinians were allowed to leave Gaza on Wednesday after more than three weeks under siege, while Israeli airstrikes destroyed apartments in a densely populated area for the second straight day.
Quick Read
Gaza Evacuation and Conflict Update:
- Evacuation from Gaza:
- Exit allowed for hundreds of dual passport holders and seriously injured Palestinians.
- 110 foreign passport holders exited; plan for over 400 to leave for Egypt.
- Egypt will not accept a large influx of Palestinian refugees.
- Airstrikes and Damage:
- Israeli airstrikes continued, targeting densely populated areas.
- Al-Jazeera aired devastation in Jabaliya refugee camp; casualty numbers unclear.
- Strikes reportedly killed dozens of militants and a senior Hamas commander.
- Jordan’s Diplomatic Response:
- Recalled its ambassador from Israel; Israeli ambassador barred from returning to Jordan.
- Linked return of ambassadors to cessation of Israeli military action in Gaza.
- Israeli Military Movements:
- Forces advancing towards Gaza City’s outskirts.
- Internet and phone services were cut off for hours.
- Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza:
- Over half the population displaced; shortages of essentials due to the siege.
- Strikes anticipated to increase casualties as Israeli troops advance.
- Post-War Governance:
- Israel has intentions to end Hamas’ governance but not to reoccupy Gaza.
- U.S. suggests Palestinian Authority could eventually govern Gaza.
- Regional Tensions and Incidents:
- Increased conflict potential with Hezbollah and actions against targets in Syria.
- Israeli forces intercepted a threat near Eilat; Iran-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for attacks.
The Associated Press has the story:
Dozens of severely wounded & dual nationals allowed to flee Gaza
Newslooks- RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP)
Hundreds of dual passport holders and dozens of seriously injured Palestinians were allowed to leave Gaza on Wednesday after more than three weeks under siege, while Israeli airstrikes destroyed apartments in a densely populated area for the second straight day.
Even as bombings have driven tens of thousands from their homes and food, water and fuel run low, no one has been allowed to leave Gaza, except for four hostages released by Hamas. Another captive was rescued by Israeli forces earlier this week. But a limited agreement appeared to have been reached Wednesday.
Al-Jazeera television, one of the few media outlets still reporting from northern Gaza, aired footage of devastation in the densely populated Jabaliya refugee camp near Gaza City, and of several wounded people, including children, being brought to a nearby hospital. The Hamas-run government said airstrikes killed and wounded many people, but the exact toll was not yet known.
The Al-Jazeera footage showed nearly identical scenes as the day before, with dozens of men digging through the gray rubble of demolished multistory buildings in search of survivors.
The toll from Tuesday’s strikes was also unknown, though the director of a nearby hospital said hundreds were killed or wounded. Israel said those strikes killed dozens of militants, including a senior Hamas commander who was involved in the militants’ bloody Oct. 7 rampage that ignited the war, and destroyed militant tunnels beneath the buildings.
In a sign of increasing alarm over the war among Arab countries, Jordan on Wednesday recalled its ambassador from Israel and told Israel’s ambassador to remain out of the country. Jordan, a key U.S. ally, signed a peace deal with Israel in 1994, the second Arab country after Egypt to do so.
Jordan’s Deputy Prime Minister, Ayman al-Safadi, who is also the foreign minister, said the return of the ambassadors is linked to Israel “stopping its war on Gaza … and the humanitarian catastrophe it is causing.” He warned of the potential of the conflict to spread, threatening “the security of the entire region.”
BORDER OPENS TO ALLOW SOME PEOPLE OUT
Amid the deteriorating circumstances, 110 foreign passport holders were allowed to to exit Gaza as of Wednesday afternoon, according to Wael Abu Omar, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Crossings Authority.
Six buses carrying 335 foreign passport holders left Gaza through the Rafah crossing into Egypt as of mid-afternoon Wednesday, according to Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority.
The authority said the plan was for more than 400 foreign passport holders to leave for Egypt. Egypt has said it will not accept an influx of Palestinian refugees because of fears Israel will not allow them to return to Gaza after the war.
Dozens of people could be seen entering the Rafah crossing — the only one currently operating — and ambulances carrying wounded Palestinians exited on the Egyptian side.
Egypt had earlier said that more than 80 Palestinians — out of many thousands wounded in the war — would also be brought in for treatment. But Dr. Mohamed Zaqout, a Health Ministry official in Gaza, told The Associated Press that 10 of the patients died before they could be evacuated to Egypt. The criteria for medical evacuation were not immediately clear.
ISRAELI ARMY ADVANCES DEEPER INTO GAZA
Israeli ground forces were pushing to the outskirts of Gaza City, days after launching a new phase of the war that Israel’s leaders say will be long and difficult. Internet and phone service was cut for several hours Wednesday, a replay of the temporary communications blackout when Israeli ground troops first advanced into Gaza in larger numbers over the weekend.
Gaza, home to 2.3 million people, is in the grip of a severe humanitarian crisis amid the siege imposed since the Oct. 7 attack. Over half the population has fled their homes, and supplies of food, medicine, water and fuel are running low. A territory-wide blackout has left hospitals reliant on generators that could shut down soon as Israel has barred all fuel imports.
The strikes in Jabaliya underline the anticipated surge in casualties on both sides as Israeli troops advance toward the outskirts of Gaza City and its dense residential neighborhoods. Israeli officials say Hamas’ military infrastructure, including hundreds of kilometers (miles) of underground tunnels, is concentrated in the city, which was home to some 650,000 people before the war.
AFTER WAR IN GAZA, THEN WHAT?
Israel has vowed to crush Hamas’ ability to govern Gaza or threaten it, while also saying it does not plan to reoccupy the territory, from which it withdrew soldiers and settlers in 2005. But it has said little about who would govern Gaza afterwards.
In congressional testimony on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested that “at some point, what would make the most sense is for an effective and revitalized Palestinian Authority to have governance and ultimately security responsibility for Gaza.”
Hamas drove the authority’s forces out of Gaza in a week of heavy fighting in 2007, leaving it with limited control over parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Palestinian support for the President Mahmoud Abbas has plunged since then, with many Palestinians dismissing the PA as little more than Israel’s police force because it helps suppress Hamas and other militant groups.
The war has meanwhile threatened to ignite more fighting on other fronts. Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group have traded fire daily along the border, and Israel and the U.S. have struck targets in Syria linked to Iran, which supports Hamas, Hezbollah and other armed groups in the region.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, an military spokesman, said Israeli forces “intercepted a threat” overnight south of the southernmost city of Eilat that did not pose any risk to Israelis and did not enter Israeli airspace, without elaborating. A day earlier, the military said it shot down what appeared to be a drone near Eilat and intercepted a missile over the Red Sea. Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed the attacks.
