U.S. response to the Gaza conflict: Stop, Don’t Jump in the Gaza Strip: A warning to Israel and not to Embark on Gaza
Mr. Abbas called for “an immediate halt” to the war in Gaza and an end to Israeli attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, which he described as “no less horrific,” according to Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency.
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, in visits to both the West Bank and Iraq, sought to reassure Palestinian leaders on Sunday that the United States was committed to minimizing harm to civilians under fire in the Gaza Strip from Israel and to warn Iran not to jump into the conflict.
“It was very important to send a very clear message to anyone who might seek to take advantage of the conflict in Gaza to threaten our personnel here or anywhere else in the region: Don’t do it,” Mr. Blinken said in a brief address at the Baghdad airport.
Several buildings were destroyed in the central Gaza Strip, and several people were killed in the explosion, according to photos and videos from the scene.
This all started nearly one month ago, on Oct. 7, when Hamas attacked several communities in Israel, killing 1,400 people and kidnapping around 240 people.
Israeli forces launched an intense reply, which included a bombardment on Gaza, with the ultimate goal of eliminating Hamas.
On Sunday, Israeli forces reached the coast of Gaza, splitting the besieged area in half and essentially cutting off the north from the south, the military said.
The division of the military eliminated terrorists in close-quarter combat, hitting around 50 targets in the last 12 hours.
Gazans have been unable to go south since Israeli attacks struck the Maghazi refugee camp in the weekend of April 11. Israeli attacks and civilian casualties
Phone, 4G cellular networks as well as internet services were cut off in Gaza for several hours. The networks seemed to have been restored by Monday morning.
Israeli bombs hit refugee camps. One attack on the Maghazi refugee camp early Sunday, killed at least 33 people and wounded dozens, health officials in the region said.
Many Palestinians in Gaza have been trying to go south since the Israelis kept going around the city.
The United Nations estimates that of the roughly 300,000 people trapped in northern Gaza, only 2,000 were able to move south this weekend, according to monitors on the ground.
The ones that have managed to flee have mostly traveled by foot for miles — adults carrying babies or pushing wheelchairs with the elderly, and holding the hands of children lugging bags full of whatever belongings they could grab. Some waved white pieces of cloth to show they were civilians.
The NPR spoke to a group of people who traveled to Gaza and said that they had to walk past bodies rotting in the street. They did not give their names because of security concerns.