The Israeli military said its troops and tanks briefly entered northern Gaza overnight into Thursday, hitting several terrorist targets as a wider ground incursion loomed after more than two weeks of heavy air raids.
Israeli airstrikes have devastated parts of the Gaza Strip, leaving neighborhoods in rubble, and hospitals in Gaza are struggling to treat masses of wounded with diminishing resources.
The UN warned that it is on the verge of running out of fuel in the Gaza Strip, forcing it to sharply curtail relief efforts in the blockaded territory. The UN Security Council failed again to address the Israeli-Hamas war, rejecting rival resolutions by the United States and Russia.
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The war is the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides. The Hamas-run Health Ministry said Wednesday that at least 6,546 Palestinians have been killed and 17,439 others wounded. In the West Bank, more than 100 Palestinians have been killed and 1,650 wounded in violence and Israeli raids following Hamas' surprise rampage on Oct. 7 in southern Israel.
More than 1,400 Israeli residents were murdered in the Oct. 7 attack, mostly civilians who died in the initial Hamas attack. Israel's military on Wednesday raised the number of remaining hostages in Gaza to 222 people, including foreigners believed captured by Hamas during the incursion. Four hostages have been released.
US and other officials fear the fighting could spill over into a wider regional conflict.
Relatives of Israelis held hostage by Hamas met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Wednesday to speak about their anguish and raise awareness for their loved ones' plight in Gaza.
Nadav Kipnis' parents, Evyatar and Lilich Kipnis were found dead days after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. His cousin is being held captive. "None of them deserved to be treated in such horrible ways. We have to spread the message of anything that can help. It's what my parents would have wanted," Kipnis said.
Ilan Regev's two children, 21-year-old Maya and 18-year-old Itay were kidnapped at the Nova Music Festival. Hamas has said it seeks the release of all Palestinian prisoners held by Israel in exchange for the captives. "Give them everything, 4,000, 5,000 prisoners in Israel. I don't care, these are children, babies, bring them back," Regev said.
Video: IDF troops raid Gaza Strip overnight Wednesday / Credit: IDF Spokesperson Unit
Since the terrorists' bloody attack more than two weeks ago, Meloni has traveled to Israel and visited Rome's main synagogue, where she pledged to defend Jewish citizens against "every form of antisemitism."
The UN Security Council has failed again to address the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza, rejecting rival United States and Russian resolutions.
The US resolution would have reaffirmed Israel's right to self-defense, urged respect for international laws – especially protection of civilians – and called for "humanitarian pauses" to deliver desperately needed aid to Gaza. Wednesday's vote in the 15-member council was 10 countries in favor, 3 against, and 2 abstentions. The resolution was not adopted because both Russia and China cast vetoes.
The Russian resolution would have called for an immediate "humanitarian cease-fire," and unequivocally condemned Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks in Israel and "indiscriminate attacks" on civilians and civilian objects in Gaza. The vote was 4 in favor, 2 against, and 9 abstentions. The resolution wasn't adopted because it failed to get the minimum nine "yes" votes.
The council is charged under the UN Charter with maintaining international peace and security. But Wednesday's rejections, following its rejections last week of a Russian resolution and a Brazilian proposal, leave the Security Council divided and paralyzed in taking action on the Israeli-Hamas war.
Malta's UN Ambassador Vanessa Frazier told reporters before the vote that if both resolutions failed, she would attempt to draft a compromise resolution.
US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield accused Russia of submitting its text with no consultations "in bad faith." Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia called the US draft a "politicized" proposal to shore up Israel.
President Joe Biden on Wednesday said there is no going back to the "status quo" in Israel and the region following the deadly attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.
"When this crisis is over, there has to be a vision of what comes next," Biden said during a news conference at the White House with the Prime Minister of Australia. "And in our view, it has to be a two-state solution."
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