The Israeli army carried out a series of heavy airstrikes in the Gaza Strip in the early hours of this morning, after a dark week with about 200 dead in hostilities between the Jewish state and the Islamist group Hamas, which continue to deafen .
As reported by APE, on Sunday night to Monday, the Israeli Air Force pounded the Gaza Strip with dozens of blows in a few minutes, causing extensive power outages, a French Agency journalist found.
Hundreds of buildings were damaged, according to Gaza authorities, who have not yet given information on whether or not there were casualties.
In a laconic statement, the Israeli Air Force said that “fighter jets” were attacking “terrorist” positions in the Gaza Strip, without going into details.
“We have never seen blows of this magnitude,” said Mad Abed Rabbu, 29, who lives in the western part of Gaza City, expressing “horror” and “fear.”
“I had the impression that I was going to die,” said Mani Kazat, another Gaza resident. “Netanyahu must be held accountable, we are civilians, not the military,” he added.
The new Israeli strikes were recorded as the Palestinian enclave, ruled by Hamas Islamists, recorded its heaviest daily tally since the new round of violence began last Monday night: 42 Palestinians, including at least eight, including two children, two Israeli strikes, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
In all, 197 Palestinians have been killed since May 10, including at least 58 children, and more than 1,200 have been injured. On the Israeli side, authorities say 10 people were killed, including two children, and 282 injured.
The armed forces of Palestinian factions, including Hamas, have fired more than 3,100 rockets at Israeli territory since the escalation began, the Israeli army said yesterday. According to the same source, this is the highest launch rate ever recorded, which clarified that a large part of them was intercepted by the Iron Dome missile system.
“Our campaign against terrorist organizations continues and is ‘in full swing,'” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday, defending the blow that leveled a 13-storey building housing the offices of international media outlets, including Al Jazeera TV. ) and the Associated Press. It was a “perfectly legitimate goal,” he insisted, adding that members of Hamas’ intelligence service were based in the building.
The Israeli military, which says it is targeting Hamas facilities and equipment, as well as members of the organization and underground galleries, accuses the Islamist group of using civilians as “human shields”.
On Sunday, the Israeli Air Force struck property belonging to the head of the Hamas Politburo in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Shinawatra, and his brother, a “terrorist.” Sources close to the Palestinian security forces confirmed the strikes, but added that they did not know the fate of Mr. Sinoar.
The most recent operation by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, an area of two million people where Israel has been under siege for more than ten years, dates back to 2014.
The war between Israel and Hamas then lasted 50 days and claimed the lives of at least 2,251 people on the Palestinian side, mostly civilians, and another 74 on the Israeli side, almost all military.
Violence has spread to the occupied West Bank, where the Palestinian Ministry of Health says 19 people have been killed since May 10.
Ongoing violence could provoke an “uncontrollable” crisis, “from a security and humanitarian point of view, and further encourage extremism,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned yesterday at the start of an emergency meeting. Security Council.
“This absurd cycle of bloodshed, terror and destruction must stop immediately,” he insisted, while the third digital meeting – this time in public – of the SA brought no results.
According to several diplomats who spoke to Agence France-Presse, the United States has continued to reject any joint statement calling for an end to hostilities.
In Israel, the conflict has sparked unprecedented unrest in many cities with mixed Israeli and Arab populations: synagogues have been attacked, street clashes have broken out, Israeli far-right attacks have taken place, and lynching threats have been made.
“The conflict raises the risk that Israelis and Palestinians will escalate into a continuing escalation of violence, with devastating consequences for both communities and the region as a whole,” Guterres warned yesterday.
