A number of foreigners and severely injured people were scheduled to leave the Gaza Strip in accordance with a deal brokered by Qatar. The first group of injured Gaza Strip evacuees has arrived in Egypt on Wednesday.
Egypt, Israel, and Hamas reached an agreement after another day of violence in Gaza, during which an Israeli air strike killed people in a refugee camp. Israel claimed that a senior Hamas commander and other combatants were killed in the attack.
All communications and internet services were once again severed on Wednesday,telecom provider Paltel said.
Israel invaded Gaza after weeks of air and artillery bombardment in retaliation for a deadly attack by Hamas, which controls Gaza, on southern Israel on October 7.
Global concern has been expressed over the high number of civilian deaths and the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where food, fuel, water, and medicine are in short supply and hospitals are overflowing with patients.
Qatar, which has ties to Israel and Hamas, mediated a deal to allow critically wounded and foreign passport holders out of Gaza and into Egypt. But this deal is considered to be unrelated to other issues, such as the release of 240 Hamas hostages and a “humanitarian pause” in hostilities, which many countries have demanded but which Netanyahu has rejected.
The Israeli military said Tuesday’s strikes on Jabalia, Gaza’s largest refugee camp, killed Ibrahim Biari, a Hamas commander “pivotal” in the Oct. 7 assault, and dozens of militants.
In Jabalia, Palestinian health officials reported at least 50 deaths and 150 injuries, while a Hamas statement claimed 400 deaths and injuries.
The Israeli military reported that 11 soldiers were killed in intense fighting on Tuesday, its largest one-day loss since the first attack.
Al Shifa Medical and the Indonesian Hospital, two of Gaza’s busiest hospitals, have lost power due to a generator fuel shortage.
The Israeli military deployed missile boats in the Red Sea on Wednesday after the Houthis in Yemen claimed long-range drone and missile attacks. Iran supports Hamas and other militant groups in the region.
