2nd batch of aid crosses into Gaza as Israel intensifies strikes

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A second batch of humanitarian aid has streamed into embattled Gaza Strip ferried by a convoy of lorries on Sunday.

The second installment of humanitarian aid arrived in Gaza on Sunday as Israel intensified its bombing campaign in the region, reports National Public Radio, NPR.

COGAT, the Israeli military agency in charge of Palestinian civil affairs, said essential supplies provided by the United Nations entered the southern Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing in Egypt. The shipment only included water, food and medical equipment, and it was inspected by Israeli security officials prior to entering Gaza.

A United Nations official said on social media that 14 trucks entered Gaza. About 17 trucks were seen near the Rafah crossing earlier on Sunday. In the first shipment of assistance, 20 trucks were let into Gaza from Egypt on Saturday.

The White House said President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone on Sunday and “affirmed that there will now be continued flow of this critical assistance into Gaza.”

Meanwhile, Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari signaled that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would be stepping up its airstrikes in Gaza.

“We will deepen our attacks to minimize the dangers to our forces in the next stages of the war. We are going to increase the attacks, from today,” Hagari said. He called on Gaza’s residents to move south “for your own safety.”

Overnight raids on the Gaza Strip killed at least 55 people, the Hamas government said on Sunday. More than 4,650 people have been killed in Gaza in the past two weeks, including more than 1,870 children, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Israel has confirmed that 212 people are being held hostage in Gaza. An additional 100 people are listed as missing.

A spokesperson for Hamas’ military wing, Abu Obeida, said the group was willing to free two more hostages for humanitarian reasons. It comes after the release of two Americans on Friday.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed those efforts, but also stressed that every hostage needs to be freed now and “unconditionally.”

“Acts are what speak, not words, particularly coming from Hamas,” Blinken said Sunday on Meet the Press.

Israeli military spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said on Sunday that Israeli strikes overnight had killed dozens of Palestinian fighters, including the deputy chief of Hamas rocket forces.

According to Reuters, many Palestinians said they had received renewed warnings from Israel’s military via leaflets and phone messages to move from north Gaza to the south of the enclave, with the added message that they “might be identified as an accomplice in a terrorist organization” if they stayed put. However, there have also been strikes in the south of Gaza, making it unclear whether moving is truly safe.

The Israeli attacks come after Hamas militants carried out a cross-border attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,400 people, mainly civilians. The Israeli military said about 7,000 rockets have been fired at Israel since the war broke out more than two weeks ago.

For many days, Israeli forces have seemed to be prepared for a possible ground invasion of Gaza. About 700,000 Palestinians have complied with the order to evacuate the northern Gaza Strip, the IDF said.