Second aid convoy reaches Gaza as Israel attacks targets in Syria and occupied West Bank
An Israeli man wearing a prayer shawl prays next to houses destroyed by Hamas militants in Kibbutz Be'eri, Israel, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. The kibbutz was overrun by Hamas militants from the nearby Gaza Strip on Oct.7, when they killed and captured many Israelis.
A truck carrying humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip crosses the Rafah border gate in Rafah, Egypt, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023.
Volunteers wave Palestinian and Egyptian flags to a truck carrying humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip as it crosses the Rafah border gate, in Rafah, Egypt, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023.
Israeli soldiers drive an armoured personnel carrier (APC) near the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023.
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023.
A Palestinian man holds the body of his child next to others killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023.
The bodies of a father and his child killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, lie in front of the morgue at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023.
A Palestinian medic holds a child wounded in Israeli air strike on the Gaza Strip, in Deir el-Balah, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023.
Palestinian doctors treat a prematurely born baby at Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023.
Friends and relatives pray for Palestinians killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)
Palestinian medic takes a baby pulled out of buildings destroyed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023.
Israelis hold signs and photos of those who were kidnapped by Hamas militants during a protest calling for their return, in Jerusalem, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. On Oct. 7, the militant Hamas rulers of the Gaza strip carried out an unprecedented, multi-front attack that killed over 1,400 and captured more than 200.
Mourners lay Liverpool FC shirts and scarfs on the grave of their friend and team fan Roee Munder, during his funeral in Kibbutz Metzer, Israel, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. Munder was killed by Hamas militants at his house in Kibbutz Nir Oz near the border with the Gaza Strip. On Oct. 7, more than 1,400 people were killed and more than 200 captured in an unprecedented, multi-front attack on Israel by the militant group that rules Gaza.
Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023.
Palestinians are evacuated from buildings hit in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023.
A Palestinian talks on the phone in by the buildings destroyed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah on Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023.
Palestinians inspect the damage after an Israeli strike hit a compound beneath a mosque in Jenin refugee camp, West Bank, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. The Israeli army said it was being used by militants planning an imminent attack. The Palestinian Ministry of health said two people were killed.
Photographs of over one thousand persons killed, missing or abducted in the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 are displayed on empty seats in an exhibit held under the motto "UNITED AGAINST TERRORISM" in the Smolarz Auditorium at Tel Aviv University, Sunday Oct. 22, 2023, in Tel Aviv.
Palestinians evacuate building hit n the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023.
Palestinians evacuate survivors after the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Deir Al-Balah, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023.
A Palestinian journalist comforts his niece wounded in an Israeli strike on her family home in Nusseirat refugee camp, in a hospital in Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023.
An Israeli flag is placed next to a house destroyed by Hamas militants in Kibbutz Be'eri, Israel, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. The kibbutz was overrun by Hamas militants from the nearby Gaza Strip on Oct.7, when they killed and captured many Israelis.
Mourners carry the coffin of Roee Munder during his funeral in Kibbutz Metzer, Israel, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. Munder was killed by Hamas militants at his house in Kibbutz Nir Oz near the border with the Gaza Strip. On Oct. 7, more than 1,400 people were killed and more than 200 captured in an unprecedented, multi-front attack on Israel by the militant group that rules Gaza.
A man mourns during the funeral of Ronny Levi at Kibbutz Revivim, southern Israel, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. Levi was killed at kibbutz Beeri by Hamas militants on Saturday 7 as they carried out an unprecedented, multi-front attack that killed over 1,000 Israelis.
Palestinians look for survivors after the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Deir Al-Balah, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023.
A Palestinian carries a child pulled out of a building hit in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023.
A Palestinian man holds the body of his child next to others killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023.
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) 鈥� 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 and the Israeli prime minister warned Lebanon蘑菇视频 Hezbollah militant group that if it launches its own war, 鈥渨e will cripple it with a force it cannot even imagine.鈥�
For days, Israel has been on the verge of launching a ground offensive in Gaza following Hamas鈥� brutal Oct. 7 rampage through a series of Israeli communities. Tanks and troops have been massed at the Gaza border, waiting for the command to cross.
Israel蘑菇视频 military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said the country had increased airstrikes across Gaza to hit targets that would reduce the risk to troops in the next stage of the war.
Fears of a widening war grew as Israeli warplanes struck targets across Gaza, two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by militants.
Israel has traded fire with Hezbollah militants since the war began, and tensions are soaring in the West Bank, where Israeli forces have battled militants in refugee camps and carried out two airstrikes in recent days.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told troops in northern Israel that if Hezbollah launches a war, 鈥渋t will make the mistake of its life. We will cripple it with a force it cannot even imagine, and the consequences for it and the Lebanese state will be devastating.鈥�
Hamas said it fought with Israeli forces near Khan Younis in southern Gaza and destroyed a tank and two bulldozers.
Late Sunday, Hagari announced that a soldier was killed and three others wounded by an anti-tank missile during a raid inside Gaza as part of efforts to rescue more than 200 hostages abducted in the Oct. 7 attack.
On Saturday, 20 trucks entered Gaza in the first aid shipment into the territory since Israel imposed a complete siege two weeks ago.
Israeli authorities said late Sunday they had allowed a second batch of aid into Gaza at the request of the United States. 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 U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees confirmed the arrival of 14 trucks.
Israel has not allowed any fuel to enter Gaza.
In a sign of how precarious any movement of aid remains, the Egyptian military said Israeli shelling hit a watchtower on Egypt蘑菇视频 side of the border, causing light injuries. The Israeli military apologized, saying a tank had accidentally fired and hit an Egyptian post, and the incident was being investigated.
Relief workers said far more aid was needed to address the spiraling humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where half the territory蘑菇视频 2.3 million people have fled their homes. The U.N. humanitarian agency said Saturday蘑菇视频 convoy carried about 4% of an average day蘑菇视频 imports before the war and 鈥渁 fraction of what is needed after 13 days of complete siege.鈥�
The Israeli military said the humanitarian situation was 鈥渦nder control,鈥� even as the U.N. called for 100 trucks a day to enter.
In a Sunday phone call, Netanyahu and U.S. President Joe Biden 鈥渁ffirmed that there will now be continued flow of this critical assistance into Gaza,鈥� the White House said in a statement.
Israel repeated its calls for people to leave northern Gaza, including by dropping leaflets from the air. It estimated 700,000 have already fled. But hundreds of thousands remain. That would raise the risk of mass civilian casualties in any ground offensive.
Israeli military officials say Hamas鈥� infrastructure and underground tunnels are concentrated in Gaza City, in the north, and that the next stage of the offensive will include unprecedented force there. Israel says it wants to crush Hamas. Officials have also spoken of carving out a buffer zone to keep Palestinians from approaching the border, though they have given no details.
Hospitals packed with patients and displaced people are running low on medical supplies and fuel for generators, forcing doctors to perform surgeries using sewing needles, resorting to vinegar as disinfectant and operating without anesthesia.
The World Health Organization says at least 130 premature babies are at 鈥済rave risk鈥� because of a shortage of generator fuel. It said seven hospitals in northern Gaza have been forced to shut down due to damage from strikes, lack of power and supplies, or Israeli evacuation orders.
Shortages of critical supplies, including ventilators, are forcing doctors to ration treatment, said Dr. Mohammed Qandeel, who works in Khan Younis鈥� Nasser Hospital. Dozens of patients continue to arrive and are treated in crowded, darkened corridors, as hospitals preserve electricity for intensive care units.
鈥淚t蘑菇视频 heartbreaking,鈥� Qandeel said.
Palestinians sheltering in U.N.-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.
Heavy airstrikes were reported across Gaza, including in the southern part of the coastal strip, where Israel has told civilians to seek refuge. At the Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah, south of the evacuation line, several bodies wrapped in white shrouds were lined up outside.
Khalil al-Degran, a hospital official, said more than 90 bodies had been brought in since early Sunday, as the sound of nearby bombing echoed behind him. He said 180 wounded people had arrived, mostly children, women and the elderly displaced from other areas.
Airstrikes also smashed through the marketplace in the Nuseirat refugee camp. Witnesses said at least a dozen people were killed.
The Israeli military has said it is striking Hamas fighters and installations and insists it does not target civilians. Palestinian militants have fired over 7,000 rockets at Israel, according to the military, and Hamas says it targeted Tel Aviv early Sunday.
More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed 鈥� mostly civilians slain during the initial Hamas attack. At least 212 people were captured and dragged back to Gaza.
Two Americans were released Friday, hours before the first shipment of humanitarian aid.
More than 4,600 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. That includes the disputed toll from a hospital explosion.
Syrian state media, meanwhile, reported that Israeli airstrikes hit the international airports in the capital, Damascus, and the northern city of Aleppo, killing one person and putting the runways out of service.
Israel has carried out several strikes in Syria since the war began. Israel rarely acknowledges individual strikes, but says it acts to prevent Hezbollah and other militants from bringing in arms from Iran, which also supports Hamas.
In Lebanon, Hezbollah said six fighters were killed Saturday, and the group蘑菇视频 deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Kassem, warned that Israel would pay a high price if it invades Gaza. Israel struck Hezbollah in response to rocket fire, the military said.
Israel also announced evacuation plans for another 14 communities near the Lebanon border.
In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, 93 Palestinians have been killed 鈥� including eight Sunday 鈥� in clashes with Israeli troops, arrest raids and attacks by Jewish settlers since the Hamas attacks, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Israeli forces have closed crossings into the territory and checkpoints between cities, measures they say are aimed at preventing attacks. Israel says it has arrested more than 700 Palestinians since Oct. 7, including 480 suspected Hamas members.
The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority administers parts of the West Bank and cooperates with Israel on security, but it is deeply unpopular and has been the target of violent Palestinian protests.
Magdy reported from Cairo and Nessman from Jerusalem. Associated Press journalists Amy Teibel in Jerusalem; Samya Kullab in Baghdad; Bassem Mroue in Beirut; Ashraf Sweilam in el-Arish, Egypt, and Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, contributed to this report.