Photo: Abdel Kareem Hana Associated Press Before dawn, an Israeli airstrike hit the Hassan family home in the Nusseirat refugee camp, al-Aqsa hospital and witnesses said. The hospital suffered twenty deaths and several injured.
France Media Agency to Rafah
Posted at 9:05 a.m.
- Middle East
The Israeli army intensified its strikes on the Gaza Strip, one of which killed 20 Palestinians in their homes on Sunday, a hospital source said, at a time when an American envoy is expected in Israel to speak about the war that continues.
In the eighth month of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, triggered by an unprecedented attack on October 7 by the Palestinian Islamist movement on the on Israeli soil, fighting has resumed in Jabalia (north), where Hamas has regained a foothold according to the army, and continues in Rafah (south), according to witnesses.
Some “800,000” Palestinians were “forced to flee” Rafah, according to the UN, to crowd in particular in Khan Younes, further north, since the Israeli evacuation order on May 6, a day before the entry of Israeli tanks into the east of this overcrowded city where the international community fears for the civilian population.
Before dawn, an Israeli airstrike hit the house of the Hassan family in the Nusseirat refugee camp (center), said al-Aqsa hospital and witnesses. “We received twenty dead and several injured,” said the hospital.
Wounded people, including children, were taken out of the rubble of the house, reported the Palestinian agency WAFA.
Also read
- Tensions at the top of the Israeli state against the backdrop of “decisive battle” in Rafah
- A first unloading of humanitarian aid thanks to the temporary jetty built in Gaza
In the north of the besieged and devastated Palestinian territory, the Al-Ahli Arab hospital reported three deaths in an Israeli raid on a school housing displaced people in eastern Gaza City.
Witnesses reported explosions and continued fighting throughout the night in Jabalia, after the army ordered the evacuation of neighborhoods where rockets were fired fired on Israel.
« Against a superpower ?! »
At the beginning of January, Israel announced that it had neutralized Hamas in the north of the Palestinian territory, but according to the army, the movement has regained a foothold in Jabalia, leading to a new ground operation by its soldiers.
“I appeal to everyone who has an ounce of humanity. Massacres are taking place here. Children are being torn to pieces. What is the fault of these children and women ? I don’t understand, you think you are fighting against a superpower ? I swear it’s the civilians who are dying,” Abou Nabil, a resident of Jabalia.
In the south of the Gaza Strip, the army announced that it was intensifying its operations in Rafah with the stated objective of annihilating the last battalions there of Hamas. The fighting mainly takes place in the eastern sector.
Israel's primary supporter, the United States, which also opposes a major offensive in Rafah, announced the visit to Israel on Sunday of White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
On October 7, Hamas commandos, infiltrated from the neighboring Gaza Strip in southern Israel, carried out an attack which killed more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP report established from official Israeli data. Of the 252 people taken as hostages during the attack, 125 are still being held in Gaza, including 37 dead, according to the army.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas who took power in Gaza in 2007 and which he considers terrorist along with the United States and the European Union.
Its army launched intense bombardments on the small, overpopulated territory, subject before the siege to an Israeli blockade for more than 15 years, then a ground offensive. Toll: 35,456 deaths, most of them civilians, according to data from the Health Ministry of the Hamas-led Gaza government, colossal destruction and a humanitarian catastrophe with some 2.4 million residents threatened with famine. after the UN.
Dissensions
Mr. Sullivan's visit coincides with deep divisions at the top of the Israeli state.
Benny Gantz, a member of Benjamin Netanyahu's war cabinet, threatened to resign if an “action plan » strategic plan, particularly for the post-war period in Gaza, was not adopted within three weeks. Before him, the Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, summoned the Prime Minister to “immediately prepare” a “governmental alternative to Hamas” in Gaza.
Mr. Netanyahu, who has so far refused to “any discussion” about the future before Hamas is wiped out, accused Mr. Gantz of wanting to “overthrow the government”.
On Saturday evening, many Israelis demonstrated again in Tel Aviv against Benjamin Netanyahu, demanding the return of the hostages.
“Bring them back at home” could be read on signs.
Rare humanitarian aid
Negotiations on a truce associated with a release of hostages and an increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza, under the aegis of international mediators, are at an impasse.
The delivery of humanitarian aid has virtually come to a standstill since the Israeli army took and closed the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian border on May 7, a crucial entry point for this aid, including essential fuel for hospitals. and humanitarian logistics.
Deliveries are also largely hampered at the Israeli-side crossings of Kerem Shalom and Erez.
Despite the establishment of a temporary pier by the Americans near the beach from Gaza for the arrival of aid, the UN and humanitarian organizations repeat that only the opening of road crossings can guarantee the necessary large-scale deliveries.
Saturday , Palestinians rushed near Nousseirat on trucks carrying aid transported from the American pier.