May 6 (UPI) — Days before U.S. President Donald Trump is to visit the Middle East, Israel is sending soldiers to the border with Gaza.
Israel has said it will increase fighting against Hamas if no further hostages are released in the immediate future, and on Tuesday IDF soldiers massed inside Israel’s southern border with the Gaza Strip.
The moves come after Israel’s security cabinet voted over the weekend to reportedly increase military operations in Gaza, and to establish a permanent presence.
They also come soon before the U.S. president travels to the region. On Monday, Trump will leave the United States to visit Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
Also from this weekend and based on earlier reporting, the Israeli cabinet reportedly discussed a possible lift on the blockade Israel has placed on humanitarian aid deliveries into Gaza. That blockade has been in place for more than eight weeks.
The full blockade of Gaza is leaving civilians with little to no food since Israel on March 2 halted aid shipments following the breakdown of an earlier cease-fire agreement.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health says more than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war began, which includes more than 2,400 since mid-March when a cease-fire that had been in place for two months was broken.
