With some bakeries closing, residents said they were unable to buy bread. Israel has also cut off water, forcing many U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN that Israeli officials told him they had turned the water back on in southern Gaza. Israel’s minister of energy and water, Israel Katz, said in a statement that water had been restored at one “specific point” in Gaza, but did not give further details. Aid workers in Gaza said they had not yet seen evidence the water was back.
Hamas urged people to stay in their homes, and the Israeli military released photos it said showed a Hamas roadblock preventing traffic from moving south. About 500,000 people, nearly one quarter of Gaza’s population, were taking refuge in United Nations schools and other facilities across the territory, where water supplies were dwindling, said Juliette Touma, spokesperson for the U.N.’s refugee agency. “Gaza is running dry,” she said.The military said Sunday that it would not target a specific route south for several hours, again urging Palestinians to leave the north en masse.
“This is my cry out to the world: Please help bring my family, my wife and three kids,” said Avihai Brodtz of Kfar Azza. Many expressed anger toward the government, saying they still have no information about their loved ones.