Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing ahead with a plan to expand Israel's military campaign in Gaza City despite widespread domestic resistance and global condemnation.
On Thursday, the Israeli military activated telephone lines warning medical personnel and international agencies in northern Gaza to leave the area in anticipation of an escalation of violence.
This came after the army announced that it would mobilise 60,000 reservists and extend the service of 20,000 active reservists to meet the needs of the upcoming campaign.
The Israeli prime minister is expected to give final approval for the operation at an evening meeting of the security cabinet, the official said.
The events followed airstrikes in central and southern Gawa on Thursday that killed at least 36 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and parallel protests in both territories.
According to the official, although Israel has killed many high-ranking Hamas commanders, some of its units are successfully reorganizing and launching new attacks, including rocket fire into Israeli territory.
Israeli forces are already operating in the urbanized area of Zeitoun and in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, preparing to launch an expanded campaign that could begin within 24 hours.
It comes amid deepening global condemnation of Israel's restrictions on food and medicine imports into Gaza and fears of a mass exodus of civilians.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres renewed his calls for an immediate calm in Gaza on Thursday, telling a news conference: “I must reiterate that it is critical that a ceasefire be achieved immediately in the hotspot of Gaza and that all detainees be released without reservations to prevent the widespread death and destruction that an offensive on Gaza City would inevitably cause.”
Protesters on Thursday expressed their opposition to the escalating conflict by taking to the streets in both Israel and Gaza. In the latter, hundreds gathered vigorously, waving flags and placards amid destroyed buildings, rubble and camps for displaced persons in a rare demonstration against the ongoing fighting and forced displacement.
“We have lost more than 10 percent of the population, 85 percent of the infrastructure, and a significant part of the cultural and historical heritage,” said Amjad al-Shawa, who heads the Palestinian NGO Network. “The whole of Gaza is in danger of being destroyed beyond repair.”
In Israel, relatives of about fifty captives remaining in the Gaza Strip gathered in Tel Aviv to denounce the planned expansion of military activity. Israel estimates that about twenty of the abductees are still alive.
“Forty-two people were captured as survivors but killed during captivity due to military pressure and delays in reaching an agreement,” said Dalia Kushnir, whose relative Eitan Horn has not yet been released. Horn's relative, Iar, was released during the last ceasefire.
“Stop sacrificing people who are being held. Stop sacrificing fighters – active duty and reservists. Stop sacrificing evacuees. Stop ruining the future of the country,” said Bar Goddard, whose mother Meni Goddard was killed and her body has not been returned.
Further protests are planned for Thursday evening in Tel Aviv.
The death toll on Thursday was at least thirty-six, according to Shifa Hospital Complex, while the death toll from earlier airstrikes in northern Gaza increased by another thirty-nine.
Al-Awda Hospital reported nineteen deaths from airstrikes in central Gaza, including five who were trying to get relief supplies and eight who were hiding in schools for displaced people.
At least nine civilians were killed in the Nasser medical facility in the southern sector while attempting to deliver humanitarian aid, and eight more were killed in an attack on the outskirts of Khan Younis.
Al-Aqsa Hospital reported that at least a hundred tents of displaced residents in central Deir el-Balah were hit by airstrikes.
Eyewitness reports indicated smog from the destroyed area and a conflagration quickly engulfing the emergency shelters. Rescue teams rushed to the epicenter of events, trying to localize the flames. Families, often with young children present, frantically sorted through the remains of the ashes from the little that they managed to grab during the previous forced abandonment of permanent abodes.
Mohammad Kahlut, a displaced person from northern Gaza, said: “We followed directions to what was considered a safe zone. We were allowed to pack our things for only five minutes before the bombing hit the camp.
“We are simple peaceful inhabitants, not militants. What is our fault and that of these little ones that we had to leave home again? This is a camp for non-violent citizens, refugees. There is a complete lack of any resistance.”
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said on Thursday that the number of military casualties in the Israel-Hamas conflict had surpassed 62,192.
The Health Ministry reported two additional deaths from starvation and nutritional deficiencies, bringing the total to 271, including 111 children.
The agency is part of a Hamas-influenced agency and has medical specialists on staff. It does not differentiate between civilian and military victims, but it says women and minors make up about half of the contingent.
The United Nations and many independent experts consider the accepted figures to be the most accurate representation of the casualties. Israel questions the figures but does not share its own calculations.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
