While the UN is once again trying to obtain an end to the fighting, the Israeli army carried out new bombings in the Palestinian territory this Monday and maintains the blockade of two hospitals where, says the IDF, soldiers are hiding. Hamas militants.
Israeli forces continue to besiege Al-Amal and Nasser hospitals in the southern town of Khan Yunis. The army continues “to carry out precise operational activity in the Shifa hospital area while avoiding harm to civilians, patients, medical teams and medical equipment.” She published videos and photos confirming that Hamas used these hospitals, like other establishments in the enclave, to hide caches of weapons and men. Israel says Gaza hospitals are used as bases by the jihadist group. Hamas and medical staff deny the accusations and have not said whether fighters were among those killed in the latest attacks.
The headquarters claimed to have arrested 500 people affiliated with Hamas and the allied Islamic Jihad faction, and killed 107 others. Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said hundreds of patients and medical staff had been detained at Al Shifa.
The Israeli military also said its forces were continuing “precisely targeted raids on terrorist infrastructure in Al-Amal” and that “20 terrorists had been eliminated in the Al Amal area over the past day during close-quarters combat.” and airstrikes. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, staff and the last patients were forced to evacuate overnight from Sunday to Monday. “When attempting to exit through the military checkpoint, the teams encountered difficulties in moving due to extensive searches and the destruction of infrastructure,” the Red Crescent said on X, adding that “during the attempt to clear the rubble and obstacles on the road, the occupying forces opened fire on two of the teams trying to remove the rubble, directly injuring them. »
The bombings left 107 dead in 24 hours, according to the Islamist movement’s Ministry of Health, including at least 26 in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, where five houses were hit. These strikes, according to doctors, killed 30 people. “With each bombing that takes place in Rafah, we fear that the tanks will arrive. The last 24 hours have been one of the worst days since we moved into the city of refuge, said Abu Khaled, a father of seven, who declined to give his full name to Reuters for fear of reprisals. . “In Rafah, we live in fear, we are hungry, we are homeless and our future is unknown. Without a ceasefire in sight, we could end up dead or displaced elsewhere, perhaps north or south (in Egypt),” he said.
Negotiations still ongoing
Rafah, the last refuge of more than a million Palestinians on the southern border of the Gaza Strip with Egypt, is among the towns that have been the target of the latest operations by the Israeli army. The international community has been putting pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu for days to prevent a massive ground offensive on the city.
Furthermore, at least 18 Palestinians died in the bombing of a house in Deir Al-Balah, in central Gaza, and dozens of residents took part in funerals organized this Monday morning. More than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed and 74,500 injured during the Israeli offensive in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials.
In response, on Monday, eight rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip at Ashdod, in southern Israel. Some were intercepted. No damage or casualties were immediately reported.
For the moment, mediation supported by the United States, Qatar and Egypt has not made it possible to obtain an agreement between Israel and Hamas on a ceasefire, an exchange of hostages and prisoners and the unhindered provision of aid to civilians in Gaza, with each side sticking to its core demands.