Jerusalem (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Local health authorities said that Israeli military strikes across the Gaza Strip killed at least 21 Palestinians as Israeli forces deployed in Rafah near the border with Egypt, initiating a new week-long aerial and ground campaign.
According to Health officials, Israel has killed almost 700 Palestinians since it resumed strikes on Gaza last Tuesday, concluding weeks of relative peace after a ceasefire in January. It stated the casualties included at least 400 women and minors.
Islamist group Hamas expressed several of its senior political and security officials had also been killed.
Why has Israel intensified its strikes on Gaza?
Israel states it resumed its military strikes to force Hamas to release the remaining hostages it is holding in Gaza. It claims to strive to minimize civilian harm and has challenged the death toll reported by health officials in the Hamas-controlled area.
Israel’s Defence Minister stated his country was opposing Hamas and not Gaza civilians.
“But when Hamas fights in civilian dress, from civilian homes, and from behind civilians, it puts civilians in danger, and they pay a horrible price. That is why we are urging Gazans to evacuate combat zones,”
Katz stated.
The Israeli military stated troops had surrounded Tel Al-Sultan to dismantle
“terror infrastructure sites and eliminate terrorists in the area.”
As far as Hamas is concerned, civilians and property are not used for military purposes.
What challenges are civilians facing?
In Rafah, the municipality stated thousands of people were entrapped inside the Tel Al-Sultan region, where the Israeli military had sent some of its forces.
“Contacts with the neighborhood are cut off completely, and the fate of (people) is unknown. Families are trapped among the ruins, with no water, no food, no medicine, amid a total collapse of healthcare services,”
It said.
The Palestinian Civil Emergency Service stated that 50,000 residents remained trapped in Rafah.
Palestinian authorities report that the death toll from nearly 18 months of conflict exceeds 50,000. The conflict escalated when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in 1,200 deaths, predominantly among civilians, and the abduction of over 250 hostages, as per Israeli sources.
