EU demands access for aid to Gaza

Israeli airstrikes ravage swathes of enclave after troops, tanks briefly enter

KHAN YUNIS, GAZA — European Union leaders have demanded "humanitarian corridors and pauses" in Israel's conflict with Hamas, urging aid access for civilians trapped in the besieged Gaza Strip where, according to the United Nations, "nowhere is safe".

More airstrikes have ravaged swathes of Gaza and residents are running out of food, water and other supplies. The bombardment continued as the Israeli military said its troops and tanks briefly entered northern Gaza to prepare for a full-scale incursion since the latest conflict began weeks ago.

Concern is also growing over the regional fallout from the conflict, with Washington warning Iran against "escalation" while striking facilities in Syria.

On Friday, two mysterious objects hit two towns in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, injuring several people.

Israel has carried out strikes on Gaza since Hamas gunmen stormed across the border on Oct 7, killing 1,400 people, in the deadliest attack since Israel's creation.

The Israeli strikes have killed more than 7,000 people, mostly civilians, with growing calls for protection of innocents caught in the conflict.

Late on Thursday, EU leaders called for "continued, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access and aid to reach those in need through all necessary measures including humanitarian corridors and pauses for humanitarian needs".

Since Oct 7, only 74 trucks of food, water and medicine have been permitted to enter Gaza, home to 2.4 million people. Aid groups described the figure as "vastly insufficient".

Before the conflict, about 500 trucks entered daily, the UN said.

Israel has cut supplies of food, water and power to Gaza and insisted no fuel can be imported as it could be used by Hamas.

That has forced 12 of Gaza's 35 hospitals to close, and the UN agency for Palestinian refugees has started to "significantly reduce its operations".

The punishing strikes have left Gazans "with nothing but impossible choices", the UN's humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territories said on Thursday.

"Nowhere is safe in Gaza," Lynne Hastings said in a statement.

Israel has repeatedly urged civilians in northern Gaza to move south for their safety but strikes have also hit southern areas and evacuation routes, Hastings said.

Mass destruction

About 45 percent of all housing in Gaza has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN, citing local authorities, and satellite images show vast areas of destruction.

Rahma Saqallah fled south with her family, heeding Israeli warnings. But after strikes killed her husband and three of her children, she was heading back home.

"Wherever we go, we will die," she said, as she prepared to leave the southern city of Khan Yunis to return to Gaza City with her surviving child. "They told us to leave for the south and then they killed us (here)."

Hamas on Thursday released a list of 6,747 names of people it said had been killed in Israeli strikes.

The situation has been exacerbated by dire medical shortages, with operations now carried out without anesthetic and ice-cream trucks turned into makeshift morgues.

There are fears that the toll will grow exponentially if Israel launches a ground operation that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said is being prepared.

Meanwhile, nine Arab countries, namely Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Morocco, urged the UN Security Council to oblige the warring parties to an immediate and sustainable cease-fire.

Recently, tens of thousands of people have marched in many cities around the world to demand peace for Gaza.

Agencies - Xinhua