On Monday, a minimum of 16 Palestinians, according to Gaza medics, were killed near Khan Younis as a result of air strikes and Israeli tank shelling. Israel made this move after giving orders to evacuate certain neighbourhoods due to fresh attacks supposedly coming from those areas.
The military said it was altering the boundaries of a humanitarian zone in Al-Mawasi to facilitate evacuations and keep civilians away from conflict areas involving Palestinian militants led by Hamas.
Israeli tanks unloaded their heavy fire on the town of Bani Suhaila, to the east of the southern city of Khan Younis. The Palestinian health officials reported 16 deaths, and added that the air was also used for heavy bombardment.
According to the Gaza health Ministry, among the dead were six kids and four women, and many others sustained injuries due to Israeli firing. However, the number of fatalities as stated by Hamas media was 26.
Courtney Carey was awarded €35,000 as compensation after Wix terminated her contract due to her social media posts about Palestine.
Netanyahu travels to Washington, stressing that regardless of who succeeds Biden, Israel will continue to be a major ally of the US.
Meanwhile, Israel and the Houthi rebels were involved in an exchange of missile strikes.
A military statement communicated that the evacuation orders, which didn’t include health institutions as per Palestinian sources, were issued in response to renewed attacks from Palestinian militants, including rocket fire coming from targeted regions in eastern Khan Younis.
Despite the relentless violence, the People of Palestine, United Nations, and global relief bodies maintain that there is no haven to be found in Gaza. Earlier in July, Israeli attack on the humanitarian-designated Al-Mawasi area killed numerous Palestinians. Israel retorted by claiming that these attacks were directed at armed militants, including high-ranking military officials from Hamas. However, the Palestinians disregarded these claims and said Israeli used them as a justification for their aggressions.
After a day of bloodshed on Monday, Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis appealed to the local residents for blood donations due to the surge in casualties pouring into the medical facility. Reuters footage revealed the injured, including women and children, being brought in to Nasser Hospital, some in ambulances, others in private vehicles.
“A family was brutally killed in their sleep,” said a man as he brought the bodies to the hospital in an ambulance.
The Palestinian Civil Emergency Service has confirmed receiving numerous reports of fatalities due to Israeli air strikes and tank bombardments on the eastern fringes of Khan Younis. Rescue teams, however, have been hindered from reaching the victims due to the severe shelling.
Simultaneously, the Israeli forces launched air strikes on two households located in Al-Bureij and Deir Al-Balah in the middle region of the Gaza Strip. Consequently, there have been a multitude of injuries, as reported by emergency medical personnel.
Further north in densely populated Gaza City, another air attack led to the deaths of two Palestinian individuals, medics confirmed.
According to official Israeli records, in response to a cross-border attack on October 7th last year by Hamas militants that resulted in over 1,200 deaths and over 250 hostages being taken, Israel pledged to eliminate Hamas entirely. In the resulting reprisal operations since then, the Palestinian health department in Gaza reports that a staggering 38,000 individuals have lost their lives.
Mediation attempts driven by Qatar and Egypt, and supported by the United States, have so far been unsuccessful due to persistent differences between the adversaries, each blaming the other for the stalemate.
On a recent Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu mandated a delegation specialised in hostage negotiations to scheduled to depart Thursday. The destination of the delegation has not been disclosed as yet. Mr. Netanyahu, along with high-ranking officials of the Israeli defence sector, held discussions with the delegation that Sunday, it has been disclosed.
—(c) Reuters 2024.