The Israeli military attacked Gaza’s largest refugee
camp with a series of powerful explosions, killing many people and a Hamas
commander linked to the horrific attacks on October 7.
Talking about the situation in the Gaza Strip, the
Palestine Telecommunications Company or Paltel said on X, “To our good people
in the beloved country, we are sorry to announce that communications and
internet services have been completely cut off in Gaza.”
Reacting to the airstrikes, the Ezzedine al-Qassam
Brigades, Hamas’ military wing has pledged to turn Gaza into a “graveyard” for
Israeli forces.
Egypt strongly condemned Israel’s “inhumane targeting
of a residential block” and said it would open the Rafah border crossing to
admit injured Palestinians for medical treatment. This is the first time Cairo
has consented to open the crossing to civilians since the conflict began.
The airstrikes took place amidst international calls
for an end to the violence and a deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The
Health Ministry had reported 8,525 deaths, including 3,542 children and 2,187
women, just hours before the attack.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has strongly
declined any avenue for a ceasefire, adding that such appeals were “a call for
Israel to surrender to Hamas, to surrender to terrorism, to surrender to
barbarism”.
US State Secretary Antony Blinken will once again
visit Israel “for meetings with members of the Israeli Government, and then
will make other stops in the region” on Friday, said State Department
spokesperson Matthew Miller.
The United Nations stated the besieged Gaza Strip has
become a “graveyard” for thousands of children.
“Our gravest fears about the reported numbers of
children killed becoming dozens, then hundreds, and ultimately thousands were
realised in just a fortnight,” said the UN.
Over at West Bank, the Palestinian territory under
Israeli occupation since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, at least 122 Palestinians
have been killed since the attacks on October 7. On Tuesday, the home of Hamas
leader Saleh al-Aruri was destroyed by the Israeli Army.
Israel said its forces entered Arura, a village near
Ramallah, and opened fire at people who were “hurling” rocks towards them
during the demolition.
On the attacks by Israeli forces on Palestinians in
West Bank, EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said, “Israel has the duty to
protect civilians in the West Bank from extremist settler violence, to hold
perpetrators accountable and ensure that the IDF intervenes. It is a legal
obligation that must be fulfilled.”
The present crisis has raised global concerns with
Bolivia declaring it was severing diplomatic relationships with Israel.
The Bolivian Government “has decided to cut diplomatic
relations with the State of Israel, in repudiation and condemnation of the
aggressive and disproportionate Israeli military offensive being carried out in
the Gaza Strip,” said Deputy Foreign Minister Freddy Mamani.
NE Watch Desk
