2nd aid convoy reaches Gaza as conflict flares

GAZA/JERUSALEM — The second aid convoy destined for desperate Palestinian civilians reached Gaza on Sunday, as Israel widened its attacks to include targets in Syria and the occupied West Bank.

A second convoy of aid trucks entered the Rafah crossing to the Gaza Strip on Sunday night, one day after 20 trucks entered Gaza.

Israeli authorities said late on Sunday they had allowed a second batch of aid into Gaza. COGAT, the Israeli defense body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said the aid included water, food and medical supplies and that everything was inspected by Israel before it was brought into Gaza.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees confirmed the arrival of 14 trucks.

Israel has not allowed any fuel to enter Gaza, The Associated Press reported.

The Egyptian military said Israeli shelling hit a watchtower on Egypt's side of the border, causing minor injuries. The Israeli military apologized, saying a tank had accidentally fired and hit an Egyptian post, and the incident was being investigated.

The Israeli military said the humanitarian situation was "under control", even as the UN called for 100 trucks a day to enter.

Shortages of critical supplies, including ventilators, are forcing doctors to resort to ration treatment, said Mohammed Qandeel, who works in Khan Younis' Nasser Hospital. Dozens of patients continue to arrive and are treated in crowded, darkened corridors, as hospitals preserve electricity for intensive care units.

"It's heartbreaking," Qandeel said.

The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees said Sunday that 29 of its staff had been killed in Gaza since the outbreak of the conflict between Hamas and Israel.

Palestinians sheltered in UN-run schools and tent camps are running low on food and are drinking dirty water. The lack of fuel has crippled water and sanitation systems.

Escalating tensions

Israel was stepping up its attacks on the Gaza Strip ahead of an anticipated ground invasion of the Palestinian enclave, the Israeli military said on Sunday, amid escalating tensions on the country's northern front and in the West Bank.

Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari said the military was "intensifying airstrikes on the Gaza Strip", adding that "dozens" of Hamas militants were killed overnight, including Muhamad Qatmash, who was identified as the deputy head of Hamas' artillery array in Gaza.

Hagari said in a briefing that 222 hostages were held by Hamas.

More than 5,000 Palestinians and over 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, AP reported.

Meanwhile, Hamas continued its strikes on Israeli forces despite the odds of a broader war seeming perilously high.

In a press statement, Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said its fighters carried out "a tight ambush" against Israeli troops "east of Khan Younis", on Sunday, killing at least one Israeli soldier.

The Israeli army confirmed that one of its soldiers was killed and three others injured by an anti-tank missile launched from Gaza. The missile targeted a tank and an engineering vehicle near Kibbutz Kissufim, an Israeli community in the vicinity of the Palestinian enclave.

Also on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while visiting troops near the border with Lebanon, warned Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Lebanese armed group and political party, against opening a second war front with Israel.

In an interview with the local MTV channel on Sunday, Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib reaffirmed that Hezbollah will not intervene in the conflict unless Israel launches a large-scale invasion of Gaza or a heavy attack on Lebanon.

As cross-border fighting between Israel and militants in southern Lebanon intensified, Israel on Sunday announced plans to evacuate 14 more communities near the northern border.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte was expected to visit Israel on Monday and French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday.

Agencies - Xinhua