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Palestinians’ plight as missiles rain down & aid lorries blocked. Hamas massacre survivors refusing to leave despite terror

- CHRIS HUGHES

 

A FEROCIOUS cross-border missile war raged between Israel and Hamas yesterday as a humanitarian crisis unfolded inside the Gaza Strip.

Nearly two weeks after Hamas's massacre of more than 1,300 Israeli civilians sparked all-out war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering from airstrikes.

They are waiting for delayed aid supplies - while the Israel Defence Force threatens to launch an imminent ground offensive. Many Gazans are down to one meal a day and are drinking dirty water.

Israeli strikes pounded Gaza yesterday it is claimed that hits took place in some areas Israel had declared safe zones.

A residential building in Khan Yunis, a city in southern Gaza where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians had sought shelter, was hit. Medics said they received at least 12 dead and 40 wounded.

Survivors are believed to be trapped in the rubble.

MEDICINES

The bombardments came after Israel agreed to allow Egypt to deliver limited humanitarian aid to Gaza after an 11-day siege.

However, lorries filled with food, water and medicines were still queuing at the crossing from Egypt into Gaza last night.

The US, which brokered the deal, said 20 lorries would be allowed in. But aid agencies say this is nowhere near enough.

UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said: "We need to start with a serious number of trucks and build up to 100 a day." Last night Israel announced plans to partially evacuate the city of Ashkelon, north of Gaza.

Though not a forced evacuation, it is a sign of the war escalating.

And already its artillery teams are fighting vicious aerial duels with Hamas and Islamic Jihad diehards in Gaza. We saw two Hamas rockets blown out of the sky above us by Israel's Iron Dome defences.