Palestinians living in Gaza are reportedly lining up outside of food stores following news that Israel plans to withhold aid and supplies until Hamas returns the hostages taken over the weekend.
Israel Katz, Israel’s Energy Minister, confirmed the plans in a social media post on Thursday and said that “no one will preach us morals” in response to the attack.
“No electrical switch will be turned on, no water hydrant will be opened and no fuel truck will enter until the Israeli abductees are returned home. Humanitarian for humanitarian,” he stated.
Fabrizio Carboni, regional director of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said that hospitals have been heavily impacted by the lack of supplies.
“Without electricity, hospitals risk turning into morgues,” he said, referencing how many machines require power, per The Associated Press.
Alaa Younis Abuel-Omrain said that supplies are limited, and “Even if there is food in some areas, we can’t get to it because of strikes,” per The AP.
Israel’s decision to withhold supplies comes following a statement from the United Nations humanitarian office that said the number of people attempting to flee the country has increased by 30% in the last 24 hours, according to PBS.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric added that roughly 218,000 people have now moved into 92 schools that are run by the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.
“More than 2,500 units have been destroyed, severely damaged and rendered uninhabitable while nearly 23,000 others have sustained moderate to minor damage,” he said, as reported by PBS.
“At least 88 educational facilities have been struck.”
Avichay Adraee, the Israeli military’s Arabic spokesperson, said Israel is attempting to “evacuate civilian populations from areas where Hamas has a military presence” before proceeding with a full-blown attack on Hamas, per The AP.
The Israel Defense Forces stated on Thursday that it will continue with “large scale strikes on terror targets belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza strip.”
“We have sent our infantry, armored soldiers, our artillery corps and many other soldiers from the reserves. 300,000 in numbers in different brigades,” said Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus on Wednesday, per CNN.
Similarly, Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht told reporters on Wednesday that his forces “are preparing for a ground maneuver” in case they are ordered to take action, according to The AP.
