The only cancer hospital in Gaza has been forced to shut down due to fuel shortages – as dozens of people were killed in the latest Israeli strikes, according to Hamas.
Amid a worsening humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave, the Turkish Friendship Hospital – which is home to the area’s only oncology unit – will stop “large parts of its services”, a statement from its director-general Dr Sobhi Skik said.
The remaining part of the hospital will shut down “within 48 hours at the latest”, he added.
Follow live: Israel hints at ‘something different’ to ground offensive
It comes amid fears the war could escalate, with US President Joe Biden expected in the region on Wednesday in an effort to calm tensions.
He will visit Israel to signal support for the country, then onward to neighbouring Jordan, where he will meet leaders from the Arab world, with concerns the conflict may spread in the region.
Pic: UNICEF
Supplies being prepared by UNICEF. Pic: UNICEF
Israel has besieged and bombed Gaza since the Hamas militant attack on Israel on 7 October.
The chief of Israel’s military intelligence, Major General Aharon Haliva, has written a letter taking responsibility for failure to anticipate the deadly raid.
More than 1,300 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the Hamas assault, with about 200 hostages held in Gaza.
At least 3,000 people in Gaza have been killed in retaliatory strikes and 12,500 others have been injured, according to the territory’s health ministry.
Speaking at a news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Hamas was responsible for the safety of civilians in Gaza, including hostages they have taken, and claimed the group is using citizens as human shields.
Hundreds of people are feared buried under the rubble, and more than a million Palestinians have fled their homes, with aid agencies warning of a deteriorating humanitarian crisis.
Concerns about dehydration and diseases were high as water and sanitation services had collapsed.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said only around 14% of Gazans had access to water
“People will start dying without water,” it said.
‘When we see a target… we’ll handle it’
On Wednesday, Israel bombed areas of southern Gaza – where many Palestinians were fleeing ahead of an expected invasion.
At least 80 were killed in those strikes in the south, the Hamas-run government said.
The Israeli military said it was targeting Hamas hideouts, infrastructure and command centres.
“When we see a target, when we see something moving that is Hamas, we’ll take care of it. We’ll handle it,” said Richard Hecht, an Israeli military spokesman.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
IDF releases footage of military strike
Among today’s key developments:
• A 13-year-old British girl missing with her sister after the Hamas attack is confirmed to have died
• Director of Rafah border crossing killed
• The UN operation in Gaza “on verge of collapse”, an official says
• US President Joe Biden is expected to visit Israel on Wednesday
• Violence is rising in the West Bank as the number of Palestinians killed reaches 61
• Israel says it may do “something different” to its expected ground offensive
Palestinians react, at the site of Israeli strikes on houses, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip
Palestinians evacuate wounded people in the Israeli bombardment of Rafah
The Rafah crossing remains closed
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says 115 health facilities have been attacked in Gaza during the conflict and warned of a long-term humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory.
The WHO also said it had supplies ready for Gaza near the Rafah crossing at the border with Egypt.
The crossing had been expected to be open to allow humanitarian aid in on Monday – but it remained closed.
It came before the director in charge of the Rafah crossing was killed.
Reports suggest Major General Fouad Abu Butihan died after Israeli strikes hit his home, however these have not been verified.
Meanwhile, Hamas confirmed one of its senior armed commanders was killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Ayman Nofal was “killed as a result of a barbaric Zionist bombing that targeted the Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip”, Hamas said.
Meanwhile, the United Nations human rights office has warned that Israel’s siege of Gaza and its evacuation order could amount to the international crime of the forcible transfer of civilians.
Read more:
US influence in Middle East being put to the test – analysis
Families in fear after children taken hostage by militants
Satellite images show homes destroyed by Gaza
Palestinians look for survivors of the Israeli bombardment of Rafah. Pic: AP
Fears of an escalation
Israel’s military said it had killed four people who tried to cross into the country from Lebanon to plant an explosive.
And Iran told Israel it should expect “pre-emptive action” in the coming hours in response to its strikes on Gaza.
The country said “all options are open” to the so-called resistance front to respond to Israel’s “war crimes”.
Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said: “The resistance front is capable of waging a long-term war with the enemy… in the coming hours, we can expect a pre-emptive action by the resistance front.
“Leaders of the resistance will not allow the Zionist regime to take any action in Gaza.”
Iran’s foreign minister did not expand on what he meant by resistance front, but the term Axis of Resistance can refer to a loose alliance among Iran, Palestinian militant groups, Syria, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and other factions.
