ALBAWABA - The Israeli army announced on Wednesday that it had transformed about 30 percent of the Gaza Strip into a buffer zone as attacks continued amid no ceasefire in the fight.
The New Arab reported that Israel had halted the entry of aid to Gaza since March 2, before resuming its aggressive air and ground attacks on March 18, the day the army in Israel announced the collapse of a two-month ceasefire with Hamas.
The health ministry in Gaza said on Wednesday that 16 people, including women and children, were killed in Israeli strikes in Khan Younis.
A spokeswoman for the UN Secretary-General said that approximately 500,000 Palestinians have been displaced since the ceasefire collapsed in March.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz affirmed that "Israel's policy is clear: No humanitarian aid will enter Gaza." He considered blocking aid "one of the main pressure tools" against Hamas, to prevent it from "using it as a tool of pressure on the population." He added in a statement: "No one is currently planning to allow any humanitarian aid into Gaza, and there are no preparations to allow it in."
