(VOVWORLD) - Israeli tanks have advanced on Gaza strip in an effort to cut the strip with 2.5 million Palestinians into two, Palestinian media reported on Monday.
 Israeli tanks advancing on central Gaza. (Photo: Reuters) |
Sources reported 10 Israeli tanks and bulldozers pushing deeper into central Gaza, blocking the territory's main highway. Israeli media confirmed that Israel’s tanks have been operating in Zaytun district and on Salah Al-Din road in the center of Gaza.
Israel's military said Monday that it struck more than 600 Hamas militant targets in recent days. Palestinian health officials reported more than 300 fatalities and 700 injuries resulting from the recent Israeli attacks in Gaza. The majority of the victims were civilians, many of them children and women.
Germany on Monday called on Israel to protect Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. German Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sebastian Fischer condemned the attacks and violence by the settlers against Palestinian communities. The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza to allow the safe delivery of food, medical supplies, and other aid.
Some 193 trucks carrying 3,100 tons of humanitarian aids of foods, water and medicine passed through the Egyptian side of the Rafah gate into the Gaza Strip.
In related news, fighting continued with cross-border bombardments between the Israeli army and Hezbollah on the Israel-Lebanon border. Islamist militia linked to Iran have continued to strike US bases in Syria and Iraq.
Observers have noted an increase in attacks on US interests in Iraq and Syria, as fighting in the Gaza Strip has escalated. The US staunchly supports Israel, and has received widespread criticism from Arab and Muslim communities around the world.