After enduring three weeks of debilitating siege, hundreds of dual passport holders and seriously injured Palestinians found passage out of Gaza on Wednesday, as Israeli airstrikes continued their deadly assault on densely populated areas for the second consecutive day.
This group marked the first civilian exodus out of Gaza—with the previous departures being a few hostages released by Hamas and one person rescued by Israeli forces—amidst the escalating violence that has seen hundreds of thousands displaced and essential supplies running dangerously low. Whether more civilians would be granted permission to leave Gaza remained an open question.
During the same day, the latest aerial bombings on the densely manned Jabaliya refugee camp located near Gaza City, demolished multi-story apartment complexes. Post the catastrophe, countless men were observed scouring through the layers of rubble in hopes of finding survivors—a scene captured by Al-Jazeera, one of the scarce media networks still broadcasting from the war-torn northern Gaza. The footage displayed wounded victims, including numerous children, rushed to a local hospital.
The Hamas-led government reported a significant number of casualties but couldn’t put an accurate number on it. The preceding day’s bombardments caused similar levels of destruction, claiming numerous lives and leaving a multitude of people injured, according to the director of a proximate hospital. Israel has unequivocally stated that these strikes have targeted military tunnels beneath those buildings.
Meanwhile, amidst rising concern over the war, Jordan recalled its ambassador from Israel on Wednesday. Jordan’s deputy prime minister, Ayman al-Safadi, stated that resuming diplomatic relations rests on Israel ceasing its aggression and addressing the ensuing humanitarian crisis.
Indeed, the humanitarian crisis is dire with over half of Gaza’s inhabitants having left their homes, and the few who remain experiencing severe shortages of food, water, and fuel. Gaza City’s hospitals are on the brink of shutdown with generators close to shutting down due to lack of fuel. The Turkish-Palestinian Hospital, the only source of specialized care for cancer patients in Gaza, has already shut its operations due to lack of fuel.
The communication blackout further exacerbated the situation, making it impossible to reach out for medical aid. In further developments, Israeli forces carried out a drone strike in the West Bank’s Jenin refugee camp on Wednesday, claiming three Palestinian lives.
Amidst all this, the rising death toll paints a gruesome facet of the war. The Palestinian Health Ministry reported more than 8,800 casualties, mostly women and minors. Meanwhile, the initial attack saw an unprecedented number of Israeli civilian casualties.
In the wake of the war, concerns grow about who will govern Gaza. During a session at Congress, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested that President Mahmoud Abbas’s Palestinian Authority should assume governance and security responsibility for Gaza.
With the dust of war stirred and the future uncertain, one thing remains clear: the road to peace is fraught with unimaginable challenges.
