Peace seems to be a far-fetched dream as Israel's war with Hamas sees no hope for an end and Gazans face the brunt of the raging conflict with no power and water supply. Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has warned Iran against getting involved in the conflict.
"We made it clear to the Iranians: Be careful," Biden said, adding that the moving of US aircraft carrier and military ships closer to Israel should be a clear signal to Iran, which backs Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah. US sources, as quoted by Reuters, also suspected that Iran knew about Hamas's plan of launching the surprise attack even though initial intel reports showed that some Iranian leaders were surprised by the attack from Gaza.
Gaza Sinks Into Darkness
For days, Gaza has been shrouded by smoke, rubble and deaths in the face of near-constant bombardment in retaliatory action by Israel and to add to the woes, now the region is devoid of electricity as the lone power station ran out of fuel.
In Gaza, the night sky has been brightened at intervals by rocket showers as Israel eyes revenge for the deadly Hamas onslaught. At around 4:30 am on Thursday (local time), Israel's military said it was conducting a "large-scale strike" on targets belonging to Hamas in Gaza but did not provide details, Reuters reported.
Without power, water couldn't be pumped into houses and total darkness descended on Gazans with only phone flashlights coming to the rescue of people along with the sudden blaze from the rockets.
"I lived through all the wars and incursions in the past, but I have never witnessed anything worse than this war," said Yamen Hamad, 35, a father-of-four, who lost his home in the Israeli strikes on the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun, told Reuters.
At a hospital in southern Gaza's Khan Younis, people waited and queued up outside the overloaded morgue where bodies were laid out on the floor because coolers were full or had no power, the news agency reported.
This comes as Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant pledged to intensify the military campaign in Gaza, saying Israel would wipe Hamas "off the face of the Earth".