Escalation in Gaza

The war between Israel and Hamas is only getting more intense: Israeli ground forces pushed further into Gaza on Thursday. An Israeli armored unit has pushed from the territory’s northwest to the coast and is moving south, according to the Institute for the Study of War. An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) commander claims the country’s troops are now “at the gates” of Gaza City.

Hamas’ military wing is claiming to have destroyed four Israeli tanks and hit a gathering of IDF troops with a quadcopter drone.

On Wednesday, Israel also unleashed a number of air strikes against populated areas in Gaza. That includes a second strike in two days on the territory’s Jabalia refugee camp targeting Hamas commanders. Israel’s first bombing on Tuesday killed Ibrahim Biari, who played a major role in the October 7 massacre of 1,400 Israelis (most of whom were civilians) that started the war.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said that the high death toll from Tuesday’s strike, which Gaza’s Hamas-run health authority claims killed 50 people and injured 150 more, “could amount to war crimes.”

Israel has argued its strikes are hitting legitimate military targets, which Hamas deliberately places in civilian areas.

Meanwhile, Lebanese Hezbollah conducted six strikes against Israeli military installations in the country’s north. Israel has hit back with air and artillery strikes in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah targets.

The humanitarian toll of the continuing war is only increasing. Some 8,796 people, including 3,648 children, have died as a result of the fighting, claims Gaza’s health authorities.

These reported deaths, which do not distinguish between civilians and militants, are not without controversy. Israel and the United States both claim that the Hamas-run health ministry is inflating the number of civilian deaths.

The United Nations (U.N.) has said that the ongoing violence in Gaza is preventing its personnel from providing an accurate, independent accounting of the number of people killed in the war thus far. At least 70 U.N. aid workers have been killed, and another 22 have been injured since the start of the war.

At least 800,000 people in Gaza have left their homes to try to avoid the fighting. Hundreds of foreign nationals and seriously injured Palestinians were allowed to leave Gaza and enter Egypt for the first time since the conflict began, according to Egyptian state-run media. Between 500 and 600 Americans are expected to be allowed to leave today, reports The New York Times.

The Egyptian government said it would assist in the evacuation of 7,000 foreigners and dual nationals from Gaza. U.S. President Joe Biden said Wednesday afternoon that there should be a pause in the fighting so that more people would be allowed to leave Gaza.

Santos triumphant: In some lighter news, alleged fraudster and known fabulist Rep. George Santos (R–N.Y.) survived an effort by his fellow legislators to expel him from the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday.

The resolution to give th