Ariane Ménage with AFP / Photo credit: SAID KHATIB / AFP
The war that has raged since October 7 between Israel and Hamas has seen no respite in the Palestinian territory, where 66 people were killed in overnight bombings, according to the Islamist movement’s Ministry of Health. A ball of fire lit up the night sky above Rafah after an airstrike on this town in southern Gaza where there are a million and a half Palestinians, according to the UN, the majority displaced. In the morning, thick clouds of smoke rose above a densely populated area in the northern Gaza Strip.
The main information to remember:
- Israeli army ground operations continue in three major hospitals, accused by Israel of harboring Hamas bases
- Hamas announced this Tuesday the deaths of 18 people, including 12 who drowned at sea while trying to recover parachuted food.
- Lebanese Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, announced on Wednesday that it had fired rockets into northern Israel, where Israeli emergency services reported one dead
- The UN Security Council adopted this Monday a first resolution calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, for the moment not followed by actions
Three hospitals targeted
Meanwhile, the Israeli army’s ground operations continue in and around three large hospitals, accused by Israel of housing Hamas bases. The army announced on Wednesday that it was continuing its operation which began on March 18 in the large al-Chifa hospital complex in the city of Gaza, in the north, claiming to have killed so far “dozens of terrorists”, having arrested “some hundreds” and having discovered weapons.
Hundreds of residents have fled the neighborhood over the past week. Military operations also continue in Khan Younes, in the south, in the area of two hospitals approximately one kilometer apart, Nasser and al-Amal, the army added. The al-Amal hospital is “out of service” and “has stopped functioning completely”, the Palestinian Red Crescent said on Tuesday after the evacuation of the civilians who were there.
According to the Red Crescent, thousands of civilians were still in the Nasser hospital on Tuesday, the largest in the south of the territory, surrounded by the army. “The forced closure of al-Amal hospital, one of the few remaining medical structures in the south (…) endangers countless lives,” denounced the International Federation of Red Cross and Crescent Societies -red (IFRC).
12 people drowned at sea while trying to scavenge food
In a sign of a desperate humanitarian situation, the Hamas Ministry of Health announced Tuesday the deaths of 18 people, including 12 drowned at sea while trying to recover parachuted food and six killed in stampedes in the same circumstances. Hamas called on foreign countries to cease these operations and demanded the opening of land access for humanitarian aid, strictly controlled by Israel and very insufficient given the immense needs of the 2.4 million inhabitants.
The United States said it would continue these airdrops, while “working tirelessly to increase the arrival of humanitarian assistance by land.” On the ground, residents watch for parachutes every day and rush when they land, jostling and even fighting. “People die for a can of tuna,” said one of them, Mohamad Al-Sabaawi, brandishing the only can of tuna he was able to recover after an airdrop into the northern Gaza Strip.
“Bring Them Home”
The UN Security Council adopted on Monday a first resolution calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, by 14 votes in favor and one abstention, that of the United States which had until then blocked three projects of resolution in this sense. The United States has increased pressure in recent weeks on its Israeli ally to spare civilians and abandon its announced ground offensive against Rafah.
Qatar, a mediating country with the United States and Egypt, said Tuesday that indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel for a truce associated with an exchange of hostages and Palestinian prisoners were continuing, although the two camps blame the blockage. In Tel Aviv, families of hostages demonstrated Tuesday evening to urge the Israeli government to reach a deal.
“Enough worrying about the little details! Get to work and bring them home now!” said Ayala Metzger, the daughter-in-law of Yoram Metzger, a Hamas hostage. The war in the Gaza Strip is accompanied by an outbreak of violence on the Israeli-Lebanese border. Lebanese Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, announced Wednesday that it had fired rockets into northern Israel, where Israeli emergency services reported one death, in retaliation for a bombing blamed on the Israeli army which killed seven rescuers in a border village.