“On a recent Saturday, four hostages were successfully retrieved by Israeli forces from two distinct regions in al-Nuseirat, situated in the heart of Gaza, according to Israeli military reports. Kidnapped by militants affiliated to Hamas during the Nova music festival in southern Israel on October 7, the hostages are three males and a female who have since been transported to a hospital for necessary health assessments. They were found to be in stable health conditions. The victims were identified as Noa Argamani (25), Almog Meir Jan (21), Andrey Kozlov (27), and Shlomi Ziv (40).
Footage was televised on Israeli News 12 showing an emotional reunion between Ms Argamani and her father, characterised by smiles and tight hugs. A video detailing Ms. Argamani’s abduction had been circulated shortly after she was forcefully taken into Gaza by armed assailants on 7th October.
In contrast, the Gaza war has entered its eighth month, and a revived ceasefire proposal seems to be at a standstill. On Friday, Israeli troops launched renewed attacks on central and southern regions, resulting in the death of a minimum of 28 Palestinians. Simultaneously, Israel’s tank forces were seen progressing towards the western perimeters of Rafah.
Efforts to reconcile conflicting demands continue to be made this week by Qatari and Egyptian mediators, backed by the US, pertaining to issues such as cessation of hostilities, release of Israeli hostages and incarcerated Palestinians in Israel, and unhindered delivery of aid to Gaza to mitigate an ongoing humanitarian crisis. Unfortunately, sources familiar with the ongoing discussions affirmed that there has been no significant progress.
A month after Israel commenced their alleged assault to eliminate the last remaining Hamas combat units in Rafah, tank-led forces are now reported to have moved to the city’s southwestern outskirts that align with the Gaza Strip’s boundary with Egypt, according to local inhabitants. They disclosed that tanks have been stationed in the al-Izba district alongside the Mediterranean seacoast, and that snipers have occupied several locations and elevated areas, endangering residents caught in their homes. The locals also noted that fire from Israeli machine guns has prevented them from venturing outdoors.
Gaza health officials disclosed that two Palestinian deaths and several injuries occurred in western Rafah due to tank bombardments there. In central Gaza, healthcare professionals reported that Israeli airstrikes resulted in the deaths of at least 15 Palestinians overnight.”
“It appears that the invading forces are attempting to reach Rafah’s seaside. The overnight bombings and invasions, carried out tactically, were met with extensive gunfire, resulting in a forced retreat,” suggested a local from Palestine.
In the northern part of Gaza, an Israeli missile attack on an educational institution in Gaza City, which was providing solace to displaced families, resulted in the demise of three Palestinians, as relayed by emergency services personnel.
[ ‘Our psychological wellbeing is totally shattered. We’re consumed by perpetual despair’ ]
The Israeli army maintained that it was focusing on Hamas gunmen who were operational from a container within the premises of the institution, a justification not unlike the one presented following an air raid on a UN education building in central Gaza’s al-Nuseirat, ensuing in 40 fatalities including 14 minors. According to the UN, these premises were the on-site refuge for roughly 6,000 displaced individuals.
The Israeli military publicised the names of the supposed 17 warriors who lost their lives during the onslaught on Thursday.
Hamas dismisses the Israeli claim that the school was camouflaging a Hamas military command centre.
Israel’s armed forces place the responsibility for the excessive mortality rate among Gaza’s civilians on Hamas, citing their alleged use of densely populated regions, educational institutes, and medical facilities as camouflage – a claim refuted by Hamas. UN and humanitarian representatives hold Israel accountable for using excessive force in the ongoing conflict, an allegation similarly denied by Israel. Israel is also accused by Hamas of purposely targeting civilian establishments, but it rejects these claims as well.
On the preceding Friday, according to Israel, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres included their armed forces on a worldwide roster of arraigners found guilty of executing crimes against minors, a decision described by Gilad Erdan, Israel’s UN ambassador, as “disgraceful”.
On Friday, Ambassador Erdan received an official notification of the aforementioned decision. This international roster is part of a report pertaining to children and armed conflicts expected to be presented to the UN Security Council on June 14th.
Ambassador Erdan stated, “With its high moral ground, the Israeli army is the epitome of morality in the world, and such an immoral decision would only benefit the terrorists and be advantageous for Hamas.”
Still, it remained uncertain as to which violations have the Israeli military been held accountable for.
Ambassador Guterres’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric refrained from commenting.
According to the media office of Gaza’s Hamas-led government, since October 7th, Israeli onslaughts on Gaza have resulted in the deaths of more than 15,500 children.
[ Burj al Barajneh refugee camp: ‘A tragedy that is unceasing’ ]
Israel has discarded the possibility of achieving peace until the elimination of Hamas. This comes as a significant part of Gaza is in ruins, despite Hamas showing its durable nature with militants reemerging to engage in conflict in locations where Israeli forces previously claimed victory and withdrew.
The conflict was instigated by Hamas when on October 7th last year, militants penetrated the Israeli-imposed blockade on Gaza. They swiftly invaded southern Israel leaving approximately 1,200 people dead and kidnapping over 250 hostages back to their base; these estimates are according to Israeli reports.
Since Israel’s forceful entry and subsequent relentless bombing of Gaza, the death toll has reportedly exceeded 36,731, including 77 fatalities within the last day. This data was reported by Gaza’s health department in a briefing on Friday. The fear now is that many more casualties lay undiscovered beneath the wreckage, with a substantial proportion of the 2.3 million populace displaced.
Since the temporary ceasefire that lasted a week in November, successive endeavours to negotiate a ceasefire have proved fruitless, as Hamas demands a definitive cessation of war and a total Israeli retreat from Gaza.
In an attempt to persuade both Israel and the Palestinian militant group, Hamas, to accept the ceasefire proposal put forward last week by US President Joe Biden, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to revisit the Middle East next week.
Israel, however, maintains that it is open to discussing only temporary pauses in the fighting until the Islamist militant group, ruling the narrow, impoverished enclave since 2007, is completely eradicated and the security threat posed by Gaza is neutralised.
© Thomson Reuters 2024.