More than two weeks after the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the "Hamas" movement, Israel intensified its airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on Sunday night/ Monday while demands for the regular entry of aid to the besieged Strip are increasing with the third convoy of trucks crossing the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt heading to Gaza.

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Edited by| Hugh Gey

 

Middle East  section -  CJ journalist

 

Gaza Strip - October,23,2023 

 

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The Israeli military said in a statement on Monday that it had hit "more than 320 military targets in the Gaza Strip" over the past 24 hours. The targets included "tunnels housing Hamas fighters, dozens of operational command centers as well as Islamic Jihad fighters, military compounds and observation points,"he said.

The Israeli army said that ground forces carried out limited raids in Gaza overnight to fight militants, adding that so far it has been confirmed that 222 people have been taken hostage by Palestinian factions.

In the West Bank, residents said Israeli forces stormed the Jalazoun refugee camp near Ramallah and launched a large-scale arrest campaign, which was punctuated by clashes with gunmen and confrontations with stone-throwing youths.

On Israel's northern border with Lebanon, clashes took place between the Iranian-backed "Hezbollah" militias and Israeli forces, who said that their planes bombed this morning two cells belonging to the party that were planning to launch anti-tank missiles and missiles. The army also reported that it bombed other targets of "Hezbollah", including a compound and an observation point. The party, for its part, said that one of its members was killed, without giving details.

As the war continues, the situation is getting more difficult in the Strip, which has a population of 2.4 million people. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called today for additional and faster assistance to Gaza, noting that the continental bloc will consider calling for a "humanitarian truce" for the Israeli bombardment of the Strip.

"What is important is more and faster assistance, especially the introduction of basic materials that can restore water and electricity,"Borrell said ahead of a meeting of foreign ministers of member states. "Personally, I believe that a humanitarian truce is necessary to allow the distribution of humanitarian aid,"he added.