20 October 2023 , 21:31
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As civilians in Gaza desperately waited for food, water and fuel to get through, Israeli troops and tanks were massed at the border, waiting for the order to begin a bloody ground offensive against Hamas.
In a move unlikely to stop the onslaught, Hamas last night released two American hostages, Judith Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter Natalie, on “humanitarian grounds”. In a Telegram post, Hamas said it was in “response to Qatari efforts” and “to prove to the American people and the world that the allegations of Biden and his fascist administration are false allegations that have no basis in truth”.
The group claimed to be holding up to 250 hostages, while Israel has acknowledged 203 people were kidnapped in the Hamas atrocities of two weeks ago. Air strikes on Gaza continued yesterday as Israeli towns in the north, close to Lebanon, and south, near Gaza, were evacuated in the countdown to a ground war.
The hostages have been released (AP)
Israeli Defence Forces on manoeuvres two miles from border with Gaza (Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)In Israel, two miles from the border with Gaza, we saw every kind of armoured attack vehicle in battle formation, pointing towards the hellscape of the Gaza Strip. Merkava main battle tanks stood with armoured personnel carriers, bulldozers for urban warfare and water trucks.
One Israeli man told us: “To think all of those tanks are going into Gaza is terrifying for everybody, but it has to be done to Hamas once and for all. The prospect for both sides truly scares me. It will go on a long time. Most Israelis agree with a ground offensive in my opinion.”
Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade
Meanwhile, at the Rafah crossing more than 200 trucks carrying 3,000 tons of aid were queued up, waiting to gain access to Gaza from Egypt. Work was under way to repair the road damaged in air strikes, with trucks unloading gravel and bulldozers filling in huge craters.
Mirror's Chris in Ashdod, Israel (Tim Merry/Mirror)With supplies running out amid the Israeli siege, Gaza residents are down to one meal a day, and have nothing to drink but dirty water. PM Rishi Sunak stressed the importance of aid as he met the Egyptian premier Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo. He told him: “We believe very strongly about providing extra humanitarian aid. We look forward to playing an important role, with Egypt, in making sure that aid can get to people as quickly as possible.”
Mr Sunak also warned against a “contagion” of war in the Middle East. A No10 spokesman said: “They agreed that global leaders should do everything possible to avoid a contagion of conflict.” While in Cairo, Mr Sunak also met Palestinian Authority leader President Mahmoud Abbas, who rules over the West Bank and whose regime is a rival to Hamas.
The No10 spokesman said: “The Prime Minister expressed his deep condolences for the loss of civilian lives in Gaza. The leaders agreed on the need for all parties to take steps to protect civilians. They condemned Hamas’s terrorism.” Thousands of people across Egypt, Iraq, Turkey, Malaysia and South Korea demonstrated, calling for an end to attacks on Gaza.
Convoy of aid for Gaza is backed up at border with Egypt (KHALED ELFIQI/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)Southern Gaza, where Palestinians had been told to shelter, came under fire from Israel yesterday. Gaza reported heavy bombing in Khan Younis in the south, and ambulances carrying men, women and children streamed into the town’s Nasser Hospital. Since Hamas massacred 1,400 in atrocities in Israel two weeks ago, 3,785 people have been killed in Gaza, with another 12,500 injured.
More than a million people have been displaced in Gaza, with overwhelmed hospitals rationing medical supplies and fuel, doctors performing surgery by the light of mobile phones and using vinegar to treat wounds. Israel has evacuated its own communities near Gaza and Lebanon, including Kiryat Shmona, a town of more than 20,000, putting residents up in hotels elsewhere in the country.
In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, 13 Palestinians, including five children, were killed on Thursday in a battle with Israeli troops.