Residents in Gaza are facing an imminent loss of electricity as fuel supplies run dangerously low in the sealed-off territory. Israeli airstrikes left entire neighborhoods demolished Wednesday, and hospitals in the Gaza Strip are struggling to treat the injured with dwindling medical supplies.
The war, which has claimed more than 2,200 lives on both sides, is expected to escalate. The weekend attack that Hamas said was retribution for worsening conditions for Palestinians under Israeli occupation has inflamed Israel's determination to crush the group's hold in Gaza.
The Israeli military said more than 1,200 people, including 155 soldiers, have died in Israel since Saturday's incursion. In Gaza, the health ministry says more than 1,050 have been killed and over 5,100 injured. The United Nations Palestinian refugee agency says 250,000 people have been displaced in Gaza.
King of Jordan: No Peace With 'Two-State Solution'
BEIRUT — The King of Jordan renewed calls for Israeli-Palestinian talks as the ongoing war between Gaza and Israel continues, as it threatens regional security.
"There will be no security, no peace, no stability without just and total peace that comes through a two-state solution," King Abdullah II said in an address to Jordanian parliament Wednesday, calling for a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital based along Israel based on its pre-1967 borders.
Abdullah II Tuesday called to dispatch medical and humanitarian aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip through Egypt.
Russia Seeks Dialogue With Both Sides
MOSCOW — The Kremlin said that Russia needs to maintain a dialogue with both sides amid the Israeli-Palestinian war.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that "it's important for us to maintain a balanced approach and remain in contact with both parties to the conflict."
He said Russia has "long historic ties" with both Israel and the Palestinians, adding that millions of Russians have moved to live in Israel and Moscow is concerned about their security.
"The fate of Russian citizens is our No. 1 priority," Peskov said. "We need to maintain an equal distance — only that will give us the right to participate in a settlement process."
Peskov added that "acts that can only be described as terrorist must be undoubtedly condemned, but the roots of the situation mustn't be forgotten."
Hezbollah Firing Missiles from Lebanon
BEIRUT — Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fired missiles at an Israeli military position in a northern border town of Aramsha. The group claimed in a statement Wednesday that the attack led to a "large number" of wounded as well as some killed troops, without specifying any numbers.
The Israeli military said that anti-tank missiles were fired at a position in the northern border town of Aramsha, but did not mention anything about casualties. The Israeli army shelled the Lebanese border town of Duhaira and surroundings where the missile attack came from.
Hezbollah said the attack was in response to Israeli shelling Sunday that killed three Hezbollah militants. The Iran-backed group, a key ally of Hamas, has endorsed the Palestinian groups' attacks on Israel, but has not officially joined the war.
Spain Evacuating People From Israel
MADRID — Spain's defense ministry says its first military plane arrived early Wednesday carrying 200 people evacuated from Israel. It says the passengers included Spaniards, other citizens of European Union countries, and foreigners with residences established in Spain who had been visiting Israel. The ministry added that a second military plane was heading to Tel Aviv to evacuate more Spaniards whose commercial flights were canceled.
Gaza's power authority says its sole power plant will run out of fuel within hours, leaving the territory without electricity after Israel cut off supplies.
Israel said it would cut off all electricity to the territory after Hamas' bloody rampage over the weekend.
All of Gaza's crossings are closed, making it impossible to bring in fuel for the power plant or the generators on which residents and hospitals have long relied.
The power authority said Wednesday that the plant would shut down in the afternoon.
A respected expert in international law was visiting family in Gaza when an Israeli airstrike struck his home in central Gaza City late Tuesday and killed everyone inside, authorities said. Saeed al-Dahshan was on his way to Cairo, where he primarily lives.
Health officials did not immediately give a number of those killed but al-Dahshan's friends said that his entire immediate family along with his brother and his family were killed, with Hamas official Bassem Naim estimating the death toll to be at least 30 people.
"This level of death and destruction is unprecedented," said Hamas spokesperson Ghazi Hamad, whose house was razed by airstrikes late Tuesday along with the homes many other members of the Hamas political bureau.
Hamas officials say Israeli airstrikes late Tuesday struck the family house of Mohammad Deif, the shadowy leader of Hamas's military wing. The attack killed his father, brother and at least two other relatives in the southern town of Khan Younis, senior Hamas official Bassem Naim confirmed to The Associated Press. The whereabouts of Deif himself have long been unknown.