No safe place in Gaza as Israeli strikes intensify

GAZA, Oct 11 (BBC/Reuters/AFP): "Where do we go? Is there a safe place left in this neighbourhood, which was so quiet and beautiful?" residents of an apartment block in Rimal asked me, with heavy sarcasm.
I had just spent the most difficult seven hours of my life inside there, as Israeli warplanes carried another wave of air strikes in retaliation for the Palestinian militant group's unprecedented assault on southern Israel from the Gaza Strip on Saturday.
The Israeli strikes also caused significant damage to dozens of residential buildings, the offices of telecommunications companies, and faculty buildings of the Islamic University of Gaza.
Terrifying explosions shook the area throughout Monday night. Children were screaming and nobody had a moment's sleep. It was a night that the residents of Rimal - Gaza City's wealthiest neighbourhood and usually its quietest - will not forget for a long time.
As dawn broke on Tuesday, the intensity of the strikes decreased and people discovered the extent of the destruction. The south-western neighbourhood's infrastructure was severely damaged and most roads leading to it were cut off.
Over 20,000 houses, 10 medical
facilities destroyed in Gaza
At least 22,639 residential buildings and ten medical facilities have been destroyed by Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry wrote on the X social network, previously known as Twitter.
According to the report, a total of 48 local schools have also been damaged. According to sources quoted by the Al Arabiya television channel, the exclave has been left without electricity and internet services.
The latest round of tensions in the Middle East was sparked by the October 7 attack of Hamas militants on the territory of Israel. According to the latest reports, clashes and shelling have left some 900 Palestinians dead and more than 4,500 wounded, and over 1,000 Israelis dead and over 3,400 wounded.
EU opposes total
siege of Gaza
EU foreign ministers on Tuesday urged Israel not to cut "water, food, or electricity" to Gaza and urged humanitarian corridors for those trying to flee the territory, the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.
After emergency talks between the 27 ministers, Borrell also said that the "overwhelming majority" of EU states oppose suspending aid to the Palestinian Authority, after the shock Hamas attack on Israel.
Israeli shelling hits Lebanon
after Hezbollah rocket fire
Israeli shelling hit southern Lebanese towns on Wednesday in response to a fresh rocket attack by powerful armed group Hezbollah, as cross-border violence extended into a fourth day.
Hezbollah said it had fired precision missiles at an Israeli position in response to the killing of its members in Israeli shelling earlier this week, pledging "decisive" responses to attacks on Lebanese territory, especially deadly ones.
The Israeli military said it was attacking Lebanon after one of its northern positions near the Israeli town of Arab al-Aramshe was targeted with anti-tank fire on Wednesday. It did not immediately provide details on casualties.
Egypt foreign minister talks
Gaza aid with UN agency
Egypt's top diplomat Sameh Shoukry hosted talks with the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees on Wednesday as spiralling violence in neighbouring Gaza displaced more than 263,000 people.