Hospitals in Gaza faced collapse Monday as water, power and medicine neared depletion, and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians searched for dwindling food supplies while Israel maintained punishing airstrikes in retaliation for last week's deadly rampage by Hamas. Thousands of patients’ lives were at risk, U.N. officials said, and mediators struggled for a cease-fire to let in aid waiting at the Egyptian border. More than a week after Israel stopped entry of essential supplies, all eyes were on the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, where trucks carrying aid have waited for days to pass through. Israeli airstrikes last week forced the shutdown of Rafah, Gaza’s only connection to Egypt. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said Israel “has not taken a position” on allowing access. The Israeli government did not respond to a request for comment. https://www.10tv.com/article/news/nation-world/israel-hamas-conflict/israel-hamas-conflict-hospitals-near-breaking-point/507-08346122-2710-4fd2-9644-65c1e18cbb54