October 29th 2024.
According to health officials, the recent airstrikes carried out by Israel in the northern Gaza Strip have resulted in the tragic deaths of at least 88 people. Among the victims were numerous women and children, causing shock and outrage within the community. The director of a local hospital shared that the injuries sustained by those who survived were life-threatening, but unfortunately, due to a weekend raid by Israeli forces, many medics were detained and unable to provide aid.
The situation in Gaza has been escalating in recent weeks, with Israel launching airstrikes and launching a bigger ground operation. Their main focus has been on targeting Hamas militants who have regrouped after more than a year of war. However, the intense fighting has raised concerns about the worsening humanitarian conditions for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who are still in northern Gaza.
These concerns were amplified on Monday when Israeli lawmakers passed two laws that would sever ties with the main UN agency responsible for distributing essential items such as food, water, and medicine. Additionally, the agency would also be banned from entering Israeli soil. As Israel controls access to both Gaza and the occupied West Bank, it is unclear how this agency, known as UNRWA, will be able to continue its vital work in these areas.
John Fowler, a spokesperson for UNRWA, expressed his concerns about the potential consequences of this decision. He stated, "The humanitarian operation in Gaza is at risk of unraveling, and this would be a disaster within a series of disasters. It's just unimaginable." The agency's logistics and thousands of workers are relied upon by other UN agencies and international organizations that also distribute aid in Gaza.
In a separate development, Hezbollah, a militant group in Lebanon, announced on Tuesday that Sheikh Naim Kassem would succeed their longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah. Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike last month. Hezbollah has been actively involved in firing rockets into Israel since the war in Gaza began, and they have vowed to continue with Nasrallah's policies until victory is achieved.
In a midday missile strike, eight Austrian soldiers serving in the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon were reported to be lightly injured. The rocket struck the UN headquarters and was likely fired by Hezbollah, as it came from the north. This attack was condemned by Austrian Defence Minister Klaudia Tanner, who called for an immediate ceasefire in the area.
In the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, a strike by Israeli forces on Tuesday resulted in the deaths of at least 12 women and 20 children, including babies. The Director of the Gaza Health Ministry's emergency service, Dr. Marwan al-Hams, confirmed the toll and added that 17 people were still missing. The nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital was overwhelmed by the influx of injured people, and its director, Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya, shared that Israeli forces had raided the facility over the weekend, detaining many medics.
Israel's recent operations in northern Gaza have claimed the lives of hundreds of people and forced thousands to flee their homes. Despite their claims of carrying out precise strikes and avoiding harm to civilians, many women and children have been killed in these attacks. In the ongoing fighting, four more Israeli soldiers were reported to have been killed on Tuesday, bringing the total to 16 since the start of the operation.
On Tuesday, Hezbollah announced that Sheikh Naim Kassem would be the new secretary-general of the group, succeeding Nasrallah. Kassem, who has been Nasrallah's deputy leader for over three decades, has given several speeches vowing that Hezbollah will continue to fight on despite setbacks. In response to Hamas' attack on Israel in 2023, which sparked the current war in Gaza, Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel. Iran, a supporter of both groups, has also been involved in direct clashes with Israel.
The tensions between Israel and Hezbollah have been escalating since September, with Israel launching a wave of heavy airstrikes and killing Nasrallah and his senior commanders. In October, Israel launched a ground invasion into Lebanon. On Tuesday, Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets into northern Israel, resulting in the death of at least one person in the city of Maalot-Tarshiha.
The decision made by the Israeli parliament to cut ties with UNRWA has been met with outrage from multiple international organizations. The agency is considered the backbone of aid activities in Gaza and other Palestinian areas, and their work cannot be matched by any other agency. With nearly a quarter of their 13,000 staff being health workers, WHO has also expressed concerns about the repercussions of this decision on the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Despite the ongoing conflict, aid must continue to reach Gaza. The United States has warned Israel that failure to facilitate greater humanitarian assistance could result in a reduction of military aid. In the past year, Hamas killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 250 as hostages. More than 43,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's retaliatory offensive, and around 90% of the population of 2.3 million have been displaced from their homes. It is a dire situation that requires immediate attention and aid.
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