Escalating its onslaught against Hamas, Israel hit the Gaza Strip with hundreds of airstrikes in a single day, Israeli officials said Tuesday, and officials in Hamas-controlled Gaza said it was the deadliest day for Palestinians there since the conflict began.
It was not possible to independently verify the claims, but it was clear that even before Israeli soldiers have set foot in the Palestinian enclave to retaliate for Hamas’s Oct. 7 rampage in Israel, a humanitarian disaster in Gaza was growing worse by the day.
If a diplomatic solution is possible, there was little sign of it Tuesday at the United Nations, where diplomats spent the day issuing futile pleas for a ceasefire and bitter denunciations.
Israel’s foreign minister, Eli Cohen, began his address to the Security Council by holding up photos of Israeli children kidnapped when Hamas gunmen and allied militants streamed into towns and military bases, shooting mostly unarmed civilians and seizing hostages. “I have to remember and never let you forget,” he said.
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