Israel targets Palestinians who have been displaced and keeps attacking Gaza’s hospitals
According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, 41 people have died as a result of Israeli bombardment near a hospital in southern Gaza during the last two days. This is after Israel increased its attacks in the center and south of the beleaguered region.
At least 21,320 individuals have died as a result of Israel’s continuous airstrikes and ground assault of Gaza, the majority of them were women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
According to the UN humanitarian office, fighting in Deir al-Balah and Khan Yunis has intensified recently, and as a result, an estimated 100,000 more displaced people have arrived in the already overflowing southern border city of Rafah.
Additional displacements occurred as Egyptian authorities readied themselves to host a high-level Hamas team in Cairo on Friday to discuss a new plan meant to halt the nearly three months of fighting that have destroyed Gaza.
The Israeli bombardment near the Al-Amal hospital in Khan Yunis, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent, “led to the martyrdom of ten people and the injury of at least 21 others” on Thursday. The strike was in retaliation for one that occurred the day before and killed 31 Palestinians in front of the hospital.
“Among the casualties are individuals present in front of the hospital and displaced persons seeking shelter at the PRCS (Red Crescent) premises,” the organization stated in a statement.
Subsequently, the health ministry of Gaza reported that 20 people had been killed by Israeli bombardment at the Shaboura camp in Rafah, near the southern border with Egypt; the majority of the victims were women and children.
Bloodied victims were being hurried through the streets to the neighboring Kuwaiti hospital, where medical personnel scrambled to treat a flurry of injured patients, some of whom were youngsters, according to AFP film from the city.
The Israeli army claims that 167 of its soldiers have died fighting Hamas within Gaza, but the actual toll is far greater. Additionally, Israel withholds the identities of any casualties that occur along its northern border with Lebanon.
Yahya Sinwar, the Gaza head of Hamas, was born and raised in Khan Yunis, where AFP correspondents saw constant artillery and airstrikes. The Israeli army recently announced that it has sent another brigade there. Resistance fighters have continued to put up a valiant battle against the invading forces, and for the past two weeks, the Israeli army has not made any substantial progress.
Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant told soldiers on Thursday that “the missions that our forces are carrying out in Khan Yunis are unprecedented — our forces reach areas that we have never been before, taking over control rooms and eliminating terrorists.”
The release of the prisoners is one of Israel’s main objectives in the conflict, but many have already perished in Israeli airstrikes.
A kibbutz declared on Thursday that the oldest lady held captive, a 70-year-old US-Israeli national, had perished in the October 7 raids.
The news of Judith Weinstein Haggai’s passing “devastated” US President Joe Biden, who also vowed that Washington would “not stop working” with its partner Israel to free the remaining prisoners.
According to the UN, over 80% of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents have been forced from their homes, and many of them are currently living in small shelters or improvised tents in the far south near Rafah.
Locals there searched amid debris on Thursday for survivors following an airstrike that, according to one witness, claimed “several casualties.”
“We were enjoying a quiet moment at home when there was a tremendous explosion and pieces of debris began to rain on us. My girls were screaming and the flat was entirely wrecked,” Tayseer Abu Al-Eish recounted.
After years of devastating isolation, Israel imposed a siege on October 7, depriving Gazans of fuel, food, water, and medical supplies.
Only seldom have humanitarian relief convoys, mostly via Egypt, helped to alleviate the acute shortages. Israel announced on Thursday that it has granted Cyprus’ request for a “maritime lifeline” to transport supplies to Gaza preliminary approval.
A Hamas team was scheduled to arrive in Cairo on Friday to offer its “observations” regarding an Egyptian ceasefire proposal that was recently presented to representatives of Islamic Jihad, which is engaged in combat with Israeli forces in Gaza, and Hamas.
According to sources close to Hamas, Cairo’s three-phase plan calls for alternating ceasefires, a gradual release of Hamas detainees in return for Israeli inmates held by the Palestinians, and finally an end to the war’s hostilities.
Additionally, it calls for the establishment of a technocrat-led Palestinian government that would lead reconstruction and governance in Gaza following the conflict, following negotiations with “all Palestinian factions”.
Speaking under anonymity, a Hamas representative informed AFP on Thursday that the delegation would “give the response of the Palestinian factions, including several observations” about the specifics of the exchanges and “guarantees for a complete Israeli military withdrawal”.
The proposal is “intended to bring together the views of all parties concerned, with the aim of ending the shedding of Palestinian blood,” according to Diaa Rashwan, the head of Egypt’s State Information Services.
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