Civil defence officials have reported that Israeli air strikes claimed the lives of at least 14 individuals in central and southern Gaza over the weekend. A residential building in Gaza City populated by 11 inhabitants, including women and children, was hit with an airstrike. Additionally, a strike targeted a tent in Khan Younis that housed Palestinians displaced by the on-going conflict between Israel and Hamas. This attack came on the heels of earlier air strikes that targeted a tent camp and a United Nations school providing shelter to displaced populations.
Simultaneously, a ceremony is being organised in honour of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a Turkish-American activist who was fatally shot by an Israeli soldier. Late on Friday, her body was returned to her home town under police escort. Her casket, cloaked by a Turkish flag, was transferred from a hearse to a Didim hospital by a six-member honour guard dressed in ceremonial uniforms. Eygi’s funeral is anticipated to take place on Saturday in the coastal town located in western Turkey.
Eygi, who was of dual American and Turkish nationality, was killed while protesting against Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel. Her death was estimated by the Israeli military to likely be a case of accidental or indirect gun fire by their forces. Nevertheless, Turkey decided to independently investigate the circumstances surrounding her death.
Eygi’s body was flown to Didim after undergoing a post-mortem examination at the Izmir Forensic Medicine Institute. A painful sight for her grieving family, Eygi’s mother needed medical support as her daughter’s casket was being unloaded.
Eygi’s demise drew a sharp rebuke from the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, in the backdrop of on-going negotiations for a ceasefire and a hostage release, being headed by the United States, Egypt and Qatar. The talks, however, repeatedly reach a stalemate due to fresh, non-negotiable conditions harangued by both Israel and Hamas.
The conflict initiated by Hamas-aligned combatants, who took the lives of approximately 1,200 individuals, a majority of whom were civilians, in an assault on the southern region of Israel on 7th October. Additionally, they kidnapped roughly 250 individuals, with an estimated 100 still being held captive after the majority were released in return for Palestinians held captive by Israel in a ceasefire period that extended a week in November. It is suspected that a third of the remaining captives have sadly passed away.
This escalation of hostility has brought about massive destruction and has led to the displacement of almost 90 per cent of the 2.3 million strong population of Gaza, many of whom have been relocated multiple times, thereby pushing the territory into a severe humanitarian crisis. As per records by Gaza’s health ministry, the death toll has surpassed 41,000 Palestinians since the start of the conflict. The ministry has yet to differentiate between casualties of civilians and militants, but has revealed that women and children represent just over 50% of the deceased. On the other hand, Israeli sources claim to have eliminated more than 17,000 militants in this ongoing war. – PA.