Israeli ground forces fought street battles with militants in Gaza City on Tuesday, in the latest stage of their offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli planes also struck again in the town of Rafah, at Gaza’s border with Egypt, targeting tunnels used to smuggle weapons and other goods.
Hamas fired at least 18 rockets into southern Israel on Tuesday. The Israeli government has said it will not end its offensive unless the rocket fire stops.
The 18-day conflict has reportedly killed at least 900 Palestinians and 13 Israelis. On Tuesday, the chief of staff of Israel’s armed forces, Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi, said the military has dealt a severe blow to Hamas, but the job is still not finished.
United Nations officials say civilians in Gaza are becoming increasingly desperate because they have no protection and are trapped with nowhere to go.
On Tuesday, the International Red Cross issued a statement deploring the fact that many wounded in Gaza have been abandoned and left to suffer alone because they are cut off from ambulances and medical workers.
Gaza City residents also are struggling to find space to bury their dead. Residents say the Israeli presence is making it too dangerous for them to reach the city’s only graveyard that still has space. Some are resorting to burying their loved ones in graves of long-dead relatives.
Meanwhile, Pentagon officials said the U.S. military canceled a planned shipment of arms to Israel from a Greek port due to objections from the Greek government. Protests have been held in Greece against the Israeli offensive in Gaza.