Dozens of air strikes pounded Gaza on Tuesday as US President Joe Biden expressed support for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in a phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
A new front in the conflict opened as the Israeli military said it also shelled Lebanon in response to six failed rocket launches from southern areas in the neighbouring country.
Biden held his third phone conversation with Netanyahu since violence flared on May 10 and expressed support for a ceasefire. But the US president stopped short of demanding an end to the violence.
At least 212 Palestinians, including 61 children, have been killed in Gaza since the attacks began. About 1,500 Palestinians have been wounded. Ten Israelis have died, including two children, while at least 300 Israelis have been wounded.
UN hails Israel decision to open crossing for aid into Gaza
The United Nations hailed an Israeli decision to open the Kerem Shalom crossing to allow aid into Gaza, and urged the opening of a second location to let in humanitarian workers.
“We very much welcome the Israeli authorities’ opening of Kerem Shalom crossing for essential humanitarian supplies,” Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, told reporters in Geneva, saying the Erez crossing should also be opened.
EU set for emergency meeting
The European Union is set to call for a ceasefire in the ongoing fighting at an emergency video meeting of the block’s 27 foreign ministers from 1200 GMT.
“We have reached out to partners to see how we can defuse and contribute to stopping this very dangerous and worrying escalation of violence,” said EU spokesperson Peter Stano.
The EU is Israel’s biggest trade partner and a big aid donor to the Palestinians but has been reluctant to use such leverage or discuss possible economic sanctions on Israel’s government.
‘Does God really feel what we are feeling now?’
Khaled Abu-Shaaban, a humanitarian worker in the Gaza Strip, told Al Jazeera that children living in the enclave were deeply traumatised as a result of Israeli air raids.
“My older girl, she is seven years old. She asked, ‘Does God really feel what we are feeling now?’” he said.
“I answered her, but I started thinking what is the mental state and the emotional state she is going through to be asking such an existential question,” he added.
‘Nothing on the table’ for a ceasefire: report
A senior Israeli official cast doubt on the possibility of a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian armed groups.
Asked by Reuters news agency if any ceasefire was in the works, a senior Israeli official said: “There is no such thing right now. There is no negotiation. There is no proposal. There is nothing on the table.”
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