TRANSCRIPT
Civilians flee, many holding the bodies of their loved ones as an ongoing air bombardment of the Gaza Strip intensifies.
Residential buildings, hospitals and places of worship have been hit amid what the Israeli military claim are attempts to squash the infrastructure of Hamas militants who launched a deadly attack on Israel on October 7.
Gaza's Health Ministry says 4,651 people have been killed in the bombing so far and over 14,000 have been wounded.
The Israeli military warned Palestinians to flee Gaza city in the north amid increasing strikes and head towards the south of the territory where they are assuring civilians they can find safety and humanitarian aid.
However, areas south of the evacuation zone continue to be struck such as the city of Deir al Balah where a local woman, Amal al-Kord, says she lost 12 family members in an Israeli bombing yesterday.
"It is a residential neighborhood. They are all gone. There is no mother, father, or brothers left. My brothers are all gone. My sister and I are left alone. We were cut from our family. Allah is sufficient for me, and He will take care of us."
The United Nations says about 1.6 million people, or 60 per cent of the Gazan population, have been displaced since the recent escalation of the Hamas-Israel conflict.
And in Israel, the families of the 212 hostages taken back to Gaza during the rampage by Hamas militants are anxiously awaiting news of their loved ones following the release of two U-S citizens on Saturday.
Jon Polin is the father of a 23-year-old Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
Witnesses say one of Hersh's limbs was blown off by a grenade in the brutal attacks that saw at least 1,400 people killed by Hamas fighters in Israel.
His father Jon is calling on Israeli and world leaders to get his son home, but also to allow urgent medical aid into Gaza to give Hersh the best chance at survival.
“We’re asking for everybody around the world, foreign ministers from the 30 countries with their hostages, to scream ‘let in the medical care.’ We’ve talked to doctors who have said, if he gets the treatment he needs, he has a decent chance. If he still hasn’t gotten it, it’s a dire situation. He needs surgery, he needs intensive antibiotics, and we’re screaming to anybody who will listen, let in the medical care and bring all 200 of these people home to their families.”
This comes as a further 15 aid trucks carrying food, water and medicine has arrived in Gaza through Egypt's border with the region, following a first fleet of 20 trucks on Saturday.
Before this latest outbreak of violence Gaza was receiving an average of 450 aid trucks a day, as approximately 80 per cent of the population regularly relies on the supplies for essential goods.
Leo Cans, Head of Mission for Médecins Sans Frontières, otherwise known as Doctors Without Borders, says the relatively small number of trucks may not be able to stave off an impending humanitarian disaster.
"It's a drop in the ocean and the only positive thing to this is just that the border have opened for a very short time. But apart from that, the supply that came in is almost nothing. I'm sorry to say this, but it's nothing compared to the needs."
Doctors are also concerned about an impending Israeli ground offensive into Gaza which is likely to begin in coming days.
Spokesman for the Israeli Defence Forces Daniel Hagari says the military has already made a number of raids into Gaza, the latest of which saw one member of the IDF killed.
“Israeli forces carried out a raid today in Gaza territory near the border as part of efforts to prepare the space ahead of an attack and as a continuation of gathering intelligence regarding missing persons and captives, a national mission of top priority. During one of the raids, an Israeli Defense Forces soldier was killed and three soldiers were wounded. Their families have been notified."
There are also fears from the international community that the Hamas-Israel conflict could broaden into neighbouring countries after threats toward Israel from Iran as well as rocket fire from the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon's south.
And today, Israeli aircraft have struck two Hezbollah cells in Lebanon that the IDF claims were planning to launch anti-tank missiles and rockets toward Israel in a joint effort with Hamas militants in Gaza.
The clashes between the Lebanese militants and Israel is the deadliest escalation of frontier violence since an Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed soldiers along the border, saying they are prepared to cripple Lebanon if Hezbollah continues.
"If Hezbollah decides to enter the war, it will miss the Second Lebanon War. It will make the mistake of its life. We will cripple it with a force it cannot even imagine, and the meaning for Hezbollah and for the state of Lebanon will be devastating. But we are prepared for any scenario."
And Iran has also threatened to join the conflict, with Iran's foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian now warning that if Israel continues the assault on Gaza anything is possible.
"I'd like to warn the United States of America and its regional proxy the fake regime of Israel, that if they don't immediately halt crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing in Gaza anything would be possible at any moment and the region will get out of control."
Meanwhile, Pope Francis has called for peace at the Vatican.
He says he's saddened by reports of churches that have been destroyed in Gaza, and is praying that the hostages held by Hamas militants will soon be released.
"I pray for and am close to all those who are suffering, the hostages, the wounded, the victims and their families. I think of the grave humanitarian situation in Gaza and I am saddened that the Anglican hospital and the Greek Orthodox parish have also been hit in recent days. I renew my call for spaces to be opened, so that humanitarian aid is allowed to keep coming and that they free the hostages."
