Photo: Said Khatib Agence France-Presse Palestinians mourn the covered bodies of their loved ones, killed during an Israeli bombardment, at el-Najar hospital in Rafah on Monday.
Adel Zaanoun – Agence France-Presse and Catherine Hours – Agence France-Presse respectively in the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem
08:56
- Middle East
Dozens of Israeli strikes hit the Gaza Strip on Monday, where at least two large hospitals are targeted by military operations, in the Palestinian territory threatened with famine after five and a half months of war between Israel and Hamas.
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, and 18 people killed in the same house in Deir el-Balah, in the center.
During the night, more than 50 strikes targeted Rafah and the neighboring town of Khan Younes, as well as Gaza City in the north and center of the territory, according to Hamas authorities.
At least two major hospitals, accused by Israel of housing Hamas bases, are now targeted by army operations, a week after the start of the intervention launched on March 18 against al-Chifa hospital in Gaza City, the largest in the territory.
This hospital and its surroundings were targeted by artillery fire on Monday, according to Hamas authorities, as were the surroundings of the al-Amal hospital in Khan Younes, besieged since the day before by the army. Witnesses also reported an incursion on Sunday near the Nasser hospital, near al-Amal.
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“We are suffering”
The Palestinian Red Crescent said on Monday that Israeli vehicles were blocking all entrances to al-Amal hospital, where, apart from the staff, only nine patients and a few civilians remained, after the evacuation on Sunday of the displaced people who had been there. found refuge.
The army announced that it was continuing its “targeted” operations in al-Shifa hospital, where around “500 terrorists” have been arrested so far and 170 others killed.
More than 20 Palestinian fighters were killed on Sunday in the al-Amal area “during close combat and airstrikes” and weapons including rocket launchers were discovered, the statement added. army.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres once again called for an “immediate ceasefire” on Sunday, after denouncing the “endless nightmare” experienced by the population of Gaza.
In Jabaliya, residents queued to fill water containers. “We don't even have food to give us the energy to fetch water, let alone innocent children, women and the elderly,” said one man, Bassam Mohammed al-Haou.
“We are suffering a lot from the lack of water, all the pipes and pumps have stopped working since the start of the war,” another man, Falah Saed, told AFP.
War broke out on October 7 when Hamas commandos infiltrated from the Gaza Strip carried out an unprecedented attack in southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of at least 1,160 people, mainly civilians, according to an AFP count established using official Israeli data.
According to Israel, around 250 people were kidnapped and 130 of them are still hostages in Gaza, 33 of whom are believed to have died.
In retaliation, Israel vowed to destroy Hamas, in power in Gaza since 2007 and which it considers a terrorist organization along with the United States and the European Union. His army launched an offensive that has so far left 32,333 dead in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.
A “huge mistake”
Talks in Doha, through Qatar, the United States and Egypt, failed to reach agreement on a truce associated with the release of held hostages in Gaza.
A Hamas official on Saturday reported “deep differences” between the two camps.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is also expected in Washington on Monday, at a time when the United States is increasing pressure on Israel to achieve a ceasefire and the entry of aid. increased humanitarian aid in Gaza.
The United States calls on its ally in particular to renounce a ground offensive on Rafah, where according to the UN there are nearly a million and a half Palestinians, most of them displaced.< /p>
US Vice President Kamala Harris told US television ABC that an invasion of Rafah would be “a huge mistake”. “I don’t rule out anything,” she added, when asked about possible “consequences” for Israel of such an operation.
On Monday evening, the UN Security Council must try again to adopt a text demanding an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, a call several times blocked by the United States which, however, has recently shown signs change of tone towards their Israeli ally.
China announced on Monday its support for this text, resulting from the work of the non-permanent members of the Council, a few days after having vetoed, like Russia, a draft American text.
The latest version seen on Sunday by AFP “demands an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan”, which began on March 11, should “lead to a lasting and permanent ceasefire “, “demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages” as well as the “removal of all obstacles” to humanitarian aid.
This aid, arriving mainly from Egypt via Rafah, is strictly controlled by Israel and enters the Gaza Strip in very insufficient quantities, given the immense needs of the 2.4 million inhabitants.
Faced with this major humanitarian crisis, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) announced on Sunday that it was now formally prohibited by Israel from any delivery of food aid in the north of the territory, where the situation is particularly dramatic.
Antonio Guterres defended the UN agency in Jordan on Monday, which he described as a “source of hope and dignity”.