To save Palestinian lives in Gaza, open the crossing into Egypt

The ground war has yet to begin, and already casualties are mounting. Gaza’s 2m people are kettled inside a space that is more densely populated than London. As we write, the count from inside the enclave is over 2,500 killed and almost 10,000 wounded. Because the median age in Gaza is just 18, many of the dead are children. Israel is determined to destroy Hamas. Urban warfare is bloody and intense. Something terrible is about to unfold.

That is why, starting with the UN secretary-general, the search is on for ways to save lives—both inside Gaza and by preventing the fighting from spreading to Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. Antony Blinken, America’s secretary of state, is travelling tirelessly across the region. His boss, Joe Biden, may soon visit Jerusalem. Amid this frenzied diplomacy, governments, aid agencies and Palestinian sympathisers are issuing desperate pleas for Israeli restraint.