Independent Online News
UN humanitarians repeated dire concerns for civilians caught up in the war in Gaza on Tuesday, amid reports of continued Israeli bombardment of the southern towns of Deir al Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah, direct clashes on the ground and the firing of rockets overnight by Palestinian armed groups into Israel.
Continuing airstrikes were reported across Gaza on Wednesday and “intense ground battles” between Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters in refugee camps in central areas that have reportedly left many dead.
Airstrikes and missiles struck dwellings and public buildings on Tuesday including Al-Amal hospital in Khan Younis killing five, among them a five-day-old baby, reports indicate.
The United Nations says Gaza is at risk of famine if the war between Israel and Hamas continues.
A quarter of households – roughly 500,000 people – are facing “catastrophic conditions”, a UN food security agency found.
The Israel-Gaza war is “taking away the focus” from the conflict in Ukraine, the country’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has admitted.
He said this was “one of the goals” of Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Ukraine has used US-supplied long-range missiles for the first time, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
His comments follow reports the weapons, known as ATACMS, destroyed nine helicopters at Russian bases in the east of the country.