Desperately needed international aid piled up near Gaza, with Palestinians in dire need of food and water after relentless bombing by Israel, AFP reports.
Medicine, water purifiers and blankets were being unloaded at El Arish airport near Gaza, an AFP reporter saw, with Ahmed Ali, head of the Egyptian Red Crescent, saying he was getting “two to three planes of aid a day”.
The situation inside Gaza is “beyond catastrophic”, said Sara Alzawqari, Unicef spokeswoman for the Gulf. “Time is running out and the numbers of casualties amongst children are rising.”
Egyptian state-linked broadcaster Al Qahera News had said the Rafah crossing — the only route into Gaza — would open today, but Cairo later said it needed more time to repair roads.
Within Israel, the drumbeat of war was growing louder, as leaders rallied troops for a ground offensive. Decked out in body armour, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited front-line troops near Gaza, urging them to “fight like lions” and “win with full force”.
