A number of Palestinian civilians have been martyred, and others wounded, due to the relentless bombing by Israeli occupation forces in Gaza and Rafah. The aggression has escalated, with no signs of slowing down, as the war enters its 216th day.
"My children! My children! They bombed my children! Help my children!"
The recent attacks have resulted in the deaths of 13 Palestinians in the Al-Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City, as warplanes targeted a group of citizens near Al-Ibki Mosque. Additionally, a house belonging to the Radhi family in the new camp of Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, was also bombed, leading to more casualties.
Heavy Israeli air strikes and artillery shelling in Azzaytoon neighborhood in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/LkDVjqUU7p
In Rafah, a young man lost his life due to Israeli artillery shelling in the eastern part of the city. The municipality building and various other sites were also targeted by military aircraft, causing widespread destruction.
As people run to try to seek some kind of safety, nowhere is safe in Rafah as the bombings continue. pic.twitter.com/Hn074q4vUf
The ongoing aggression has forced families to flee their homes in Rafah, seeking safety from the relentless bombing. The toll on innocent civilians continues to rise, with reports of injuries from bombings in other areas such as Al-Fokhari, east of Khan Yunis.
BREAKING | Displaced families from Al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City, Northern Gaza, flee as IOF military tanks advance and violent artillery shelling continues pic.twitter.com/xJaZfubm0S
According to the government media office in Gaza, the Israeli occupation forces have committed over 3,000 massacres during the 215 days of war on Gaza, resulting in thousands of martyrs and missing persons. The toll includes a number of child casualties, with more than 15,000 children losing their lives in the ongoing genocide.
A child has suffered extreme burns all over their body after their home was bombed in Rafah. pic.twitter.com/A2MrcpSSAS
At least 35 Palestinians were killed and 129 wounded as Israeli forces carried out new massacres in the eastern and southern areas of Rafah.
The United States reportedly suspended sending arms shipments to Israel, due to its failure to address our concerns regarding its plans to invade Rafah.
Al-Qassam Brigades and Al-Quds Brigades announced in a statement that they are engaged in fierce clashes with invading Israeli forces east of Rafah.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 34,844 Palestinians have been killed, and 78,404 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
HAARETZ: Clashes took place between families of captives in Gaza and Israeli police officers at a Tel Aviv demonstration demanding an exchange deal.
UNICEF: 600,000 Palestinian children are seeking shelter in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, some of whom have been displaced several times, exhausted, traumatized, sick and hungry.
FORMER ISRAELI CHIEF OF STAFF: Former Israeli Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi said that stopping the war on the Gaza Strip is the only way to return Israeli prisoners held by the Resistance.
ISRAELI ARMY: An Israeli soldier was injured as a result of a shell fired by the resistance in the Kerem Shalom area in the southern Gaza Strip.
FREE UNIVERSITY OF BRUSSELS: The Free University of Brussels decided to stop a technological research project with Israeli partners, and to review all other projects with Israeli participation.
HEZBOLLAH: We targeted “with artillery shells a force of Israeli enemy soldiers in the vicinity of the Ramia site, and we achieved a direct hit.”
ISRAELI ARMY: An Israeli soldier was injured as a result of a shell fired by the resistance in the Kerem Shalom area in the southern Gaza Strip.
FORMER ISRAELI CHIEF OF STAFF: Former Israeli Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi said that stopping the war on the Gaza Strip is the only way… pic.twitter.com/MuJT6dqIui
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 8, 2024
Tuesday, May 7, 10:00 pm (GMT +2)
KAN: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office is working on a draft law proposal with the ultra-Orthodox parties, bypassing Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Defense Council Minister Benny Gantz.
ISRAELI MEDIA: Netanyahu backed down from showing flexibility in exchange negotiations.
UNRWA: The crossings must be opened, and humanitarian aid must flow.
HAMAS: The probability of the occupation remaining in the Gaza Strip is zero.
CHANNEL 14: Israeli occupation army evacuated a temporary military site on the Gaza envelope, fearing that resistance elements would infiltrate it.
WALLA (quoting Israeli sources): The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hid medical markings on an ambulance that had been accompanying Netanyahu’s convoy since he suffered a heart attack last month, in order to make it look like a regular civilian car.
WALLA (quoting Israeli sources): The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hid medical markings on an ambulance that had been accompanying Netanyahu’s convoy since he suffered a heart attack last month, in order to make it look like a regular civilian car.
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 8, 2024
UNRWA: Protest by Israeli extremists in front of our headquarters in Jerusalem is “intimidation and sabotage”.
NETANYAHU’S SPOKESMAN: The seizure of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing in the southern Gaza Strip by the Israeli army does not violate the peace treaty between Tel Aviv and Cairo.
UNRWA: The agency’s buildings in Gaza were subjected to 368 Israeli attacks.
ISRAELI ARMY RADIO: Iron Dome was unable to intercept rockets launched by the Resistance from Gaza towards Shlomi.
ISRAELI ARMY RADIO: Iron Dome was unable to intercept rockets launched by the Resistance from Gaza towards Shlomi.
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 8, 2024
AUSTIN: We are absolutely committed to Israel’s right to defend itself.
FORMER MOSSAD CHIEF: There is no meaning to fighting in Rafah after all these days since the start of the war.
CHANNEL 13: Eight rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip towards Shlomi in the Eshkol Regional Council in the Gaza Strip.
HEZBOLLAH: We carried out an attack with assault marches on the headquarters of the newly created Western Brigade in Ya’ra, and a direct hit was achieved.
RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESWOMAN: Carrying out an Israeli ground military operation in Rafah destabilizes the entire region. There are no prospects yet for resolving the situation in the Gaza Strip, and the conflict in the region is escalating daily.
US OFFICIAL (to Al-Jazeera): Washington’s position on Rafah has not changed, and a broad operation must not be launched.
UNRWA: We did not receive aid or fuel through the Rafah crossing.
NBC (citing Israeli official). There is deep frustration in the Israeli government with the American decision to halt the arms shipment.
Tuesday, May 7, 4:15 pm (GMT +2)
GAZA STRIP CROSSINGS AUTHORITY: The Gaza Strip Crossings Authority denied Israel’s claims that it had reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing, south of the Strip, for the entry of aid.
AL-JAZEERA: About 200 European Union employees demonstrated in the Belgian capital, Brussels, against the Union’s policies towards the Gaza Strip.
AL-QASSAM BRIGADES: The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades announced the bombing of Israeli occupation forces’ concentrations at the “Kerem Shalom Military Site” with a 114 mm short-range “Rajoum” missile system.
Tuesday, May 7, 2:45 pm (GMT +2)
GAZA GOVERNMENT MEDIA OFFICE: A third mass grave was found inside the Shifa Medical Complex and 49 bodies were recovered.
AL-JAZEERA: Six workers were injured by occupation fire at the Kerem Shalom crossing.
AL-QUDS BRIGADES: We bombed with heavy-caliber mortar shells Israeli occupation soldiers and vehicles penetrating the vicinity of the airport, east of the city of Rafah.
GAZA HEALTH MINISTRY: 34,844 Palestinians have been killed, and 78,404 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 8, 2024
ISRAELI ARMY: 3,361 Israeli soldiers have been injured since the start of the war on Gaza.
GAZA HEALTH MINISTRY: 34,844 Palestinians have been killed, and 78,404 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
US MEDIA: Metropolitan Police began evacuating a pro-Palestinian camp at George Washington University at dawn today.
Tuesday, May 7, 1:30 pm (GMT +2)
AL-JAZEERA: Rockets were launched from southern Lebanon towards the Israeli monk site in the Upper Galilee.
ISRAELI MEDIA: The Israeli army is investigating the downing of its drone in Kfar Saba, between Jaffa and Tulkarm.
HEZBOLLAH: We targeted two buildings used by Israeli army soldiers in the Hanita settlement.
In this video, Al-Quds Brigades fighters are seen bombarding Israeli soldiers and vehicles with mortar shells in the axes of advance east of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 8, 2024
PALESTINIAN MEDIA: The death toll from the Israeli bombing on the Al-Qara family’s home in the Khuza’a area, east of Khan Yunis, has risen to three.
Tuesday, May 7, 12:30 pm (GMT +2)
HEZBOLLAH: We targeted a building used by Israeli soldiers in the Metulla settlement, and two other buildings in the Shlomi settlement in the Upper Galilee.
YEDIOTH AHRONOTH: The Israeli army downplayed the US administration’s suspension of an arms shipment following an Israeli military operation in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip this week, saying that the two allied parties resolve any disputes “behind closed doors.”
Tuesday, May 7, 11:30 am (GMT +2)
PALESTINIAN FACTIONS: We will not accept the imposition of any guardianship over the Rafah crossing or any other party, and we consider this an occupation.
CHANNEL 13: An anti-tank missile hit a house in the town of Metulla.
PALESTINIAN MEDICAL SOURCES: The bodies of 35 Palestinians and 129 wounded arrived at Kuwait Hospital in Rafah within 24 hours.
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 8, 2024
KEREM SHALOM: Kerem Shalom crossing reopened for the entry of humanitarian aid after it was closed.
QATARI FM: Qatar strongly condemns the bombing of Rafah and calls for preventing its invasion.
AL-QUDS BRIGADES: We are engaged in fierce clashes east of Rafah.
MAARIV: Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich submitted a petition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop delaying legislation on the use of Palestinian Authority funds held by Israel .
ISRAELI MEDIA: Instructions were issued to farmers in the Gaza Strip not to go out to work in the areas adjacent to the border fence.
Tuesday, May 7, 09:00 am (GMT +2)
BEN-GVIR: The demolition of dozens of homes in the Negev is an important step towards restoring governance.
AL-JAZEERA: Occupation forces begin demolishing dozens of Palestinian homes in the Naqab (Negev).
AL-JAZEERA: Occupation forces begin demolishing dozens of Palestinian homes in the Naqab (Negev).
AL-QASSAM BRIGADES: Our fighters are engaged in fierce clashes with the Israeli enemy forces penetrating east of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 8, 2024
AL-QASSAM BRIGADES: Our fighters are engaged in fierce clashes with the Israeli enemy forces penetrating east of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
UNRWA: UNRWA called for the reopening of Gaza crossings without any delay, noting that vital supplies and fuel are entered through them.
ISRAELI MEDIA: Dozens of prisoners’ families are closing the main Ayalon axis in Tel Aviv, demanding a deal to return their children.
Tuesday, May 7, 08:00 am (GMT +2)
AL-JAZEERA: An Israeli air strike targeted the vicinity of the destroyed Gaza Airport, east of the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
PALESTINIAN MEDIA: A woman was killed and a number of injured in an Israeli artillery shelling that targeted the town of Khuza’a, east of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip.
AL-JAZEERA: An Israeli air strike targeted the vicinity of the destroyed Gaza Airport, east of the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
PALESTINIAN MEDIA: A woman was killed and a number of injured in an Israeli artillery shelling that targeted the town of Khuza'a, east of… pic.twitter.com/9dfg0CjEgN
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 8, 2024
AFP (citing US official): We suspended sending an arms shipment to Israel of 1,800 1,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs. Suspending the shipment of weapons to Israel due to its failure to address our concerns regarding its plans to invade Rafah.
Tuesday, May 7, 05:00 am (GMT +2)
NBC (citing US officials): American, Qatari and Egyptian negotiators are trying in Cairo to resolve various disagreements regarding the ceasefire deal.
AXIOS (citing American source): Republican representatives are preparing legislation targeting international criminal officials.
Tuesday, May 7, 03:00 am (GMT +2)
WASHINGTON POST (quoting US official): The move by the administration of US President Joe Biden to postpone two arms shipments to Israel confirms Washington’s fears about the Rafah attack.
PALESTINIAN MEDIA: An Israeli raid and artillery shelling in the center and north of the Gaza Strip.
Tuesday, May 7, 02:00 am (GMT +2)
REUTERS (citing informed source): CIA Director William Burns will travel to Israel on Wednesday to hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials.
REUTERS (citing informed source): CIA Director William Burns will travel to Israel on Wednesday to hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials.
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 8, 2024
BRITISH DEPUTY FOREIGN SECRETARY: Israel’s attack on Rafah would violate international law and would not lead to the elimination of Hamas.
Tuesday, May 7, 01:00 am (GMT +2)
MARTIN GRIFFITHS: Martin Griffiths said that Israeli evacuation orders in Rafah and the ground operation will lead to more death and displacement.
REUTERS (quoting informed sources): The administration of US President Joe Biden will not submit its report to Congress on whether Israel is violating international law in Gaza on time.
BLINKEN: Blinken condemns “extremist attacks” on aid heading from Jordan to Gaza.
Tuesday, May 7, 12:00 am (GMT +2)
YEDIOTH AHRONOTH: CIA Director William Burns will arrive in Israel tomorrow, Wednesday, to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mossad Chief David Barnea to discuss a possible deal for a ceasefire in Gaza and the exchange of prisoners.
On the 211th day of the ongoing aggression against the Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupation army ramped up its attacks on homes in Rafah, resulting in more casualties. Despite the devastating situation, efforts to reach a ceasefire deal were intensified in Cairo, where the Hamas delegation met with British officials to discuss ending the war.
The discussions in Cairo focused on a prisoner exchange deal, with the Qatari Al Jazeera Channel reporting that a Qatari delegation would join the negotiations. The Palestinian resistance forces, including Hamas, reiterated their commitment to achieving the ceasefire demands, which include ending the aggression, withdrawing occupation forces, returning displaced persons, providing relief to the population, initiating reconstruction efforts, and finalizing the exchange deal.
Reports from Palestinian media sources confirm casualties in Israeli bombings in various areas, including Al-Faraheen in Khan Yunis and the Al-Geneina neighborhood in Rafah. Additionally, occupation aircraft raided the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, while helicopters fired on neighborhoods in the northern region.
Also Al-Hourani family home in the Al-Saftawi area was bombed, resulting in the recovery of 3 martyrs and 3 wounded individuals from under the rubble. Other areas, including the Al-Jeneina neighborhood, also faced devastating attacks, leading to further loss of life and injuries.
The house of the Al-Hourani family was targeted in an air strike by the Israeli occupation leaving injuries and fatalities. pic.twitter.com/ovUYoUqwrK
In a heartbreaking turn of events, it was reported that over 10,000 women have been killed and 19,000 injured due to ongoing Israeli assaults, with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) labeling the aggression as a “war on women.” The dire situation has left more than 155,000 pregnant or breastfeeding women struggling to access essential resources.
Rescue teams recovered numerous casualties and injuries from the rubble of the Abu Al-Anin family home in the Al-Geneina neighborhood, east of Rafah.https://t.co/HwbLXNHKdHpic.twitter.com/rVNEiS3QDT
Amidst the crisis, an opinion poll revealed that a majority of Israelis (54%) prefer a truce agreement with Hamas over a military operation in Rafah. The international community has been urged to unify its position on the conflict, with European Union Foreign Policy Coordinator Josep Borrell stressing the importance of working towards a two-state solution.
Rescue teams recovered numerous casualties and injuries from the rubble of the Abu Al-Anin family home in the Al-Geneina neighborhood, east of Rafah.https://t.co/HwbLXNHKdHpic.twitter.com/rVNEiS3QDT
Despite the negotiations, the occupation aircraft and artillery continued their violent raids on various parts of Gaza, with a particular focus on Rafah. Dozens of civilians were killed or wounded as a result of the ongoing bombardment.
The situation on the ground remained grim, with reports of casualties in multiple areas, including Khan Yunis, Rafah, and Gaza City. Medical teams and civil defense worked tirelessly to rescue trapped individuals and recover bodies from the rubble of bombed homes.
The daily struggle of the children of Gaza to get food and water for them and their families. pic.twitter.com/NZLBNPvzV1
As the international community awaited progress in the Cairo talks, the people of Gaza continued to suffer under the relentless aggression. The need for an immediate ceasefire and humanitarian relief was more urgent than ever as the conflict entered its 211th day.
The aggression against Gaza continues as the occupation army targets the city of Rafah and Khan Yunis, with plans for a ground invasion despite international warnings. At least 22 people were martyred and dozens injured in Israeli raids on Sunday night.
Israeli airstrikes and artillery bombardments on homes and populated areas have left many dead, including children, women, and the elderly.
The Gaza Civil Defense is working to recover the martyrs and wounded, with reports of several attacks on inhabited homes.
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Civil Defense teams pull out several victims from under the rubble of the Al Khatib family in Rafah, which was bombed by Israeli warplanes last night. pic.twitter.com/DGgVWyxMsh
At least 22 people were martyred and dozens were injured in Israeli raids that targeted, on the night of Sunday – Monday, areas in the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, which has been subjected to an ongoing war for about 7 months, while the death toll in the Strip rose to 34,454 martyrs, since October 7.
The daily scene in Gaza that has been going on for seven months: bereaved families bidding farewell to their loved ones.
This was the scene this morning at a hospital mortuary in Rafah, southern Gaza. pic.twitter.com/QCvZi6mAMz
The Israeli Air Force intensified its raids on various areas in the Gaza Strip, while Israeli artillery renewed its bombing of homes, residential squares, and populated areas, leaving martyrs and wounded, most of them children, women, and the elderly.
Journalist Hazem Suleiman bids a sorrowful farewell for his friend, Ahmed Abu Taha, killed in an Israeli airstrike last night in Rafah. pic.twitter.com/jjJQ7yNU5Q
Media sources reported that occupation aircraft bombed several inhabited homes during the past two hours in the Gaza Strip.
For its part, the Gaza Civil Defense reported that its crews in the city of Rafah dealt with several attacks on populated homes, resulting in a number of martyrs, wounded, and others missing under the rubble.
World attention to the ongoing humanitarian tragedy in Gaza has declined compared to the earlier weeks of the Israeli onslaught, but the bloodbath is carrying on, undeterred.
Here's the scene today at a hospital yard in Rafah, where dozens of grieving families came in the… pic.twitter.com/NUnfRfshYV
During the past 24 hours, the Israeli army committed 7 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, including 66 deaths and 138 injuries, according to what the Ministry of Health in Gaza reported.
Luckily, this innocent baby girl survived an Israeli airstrike which targeted a house in Rafah last night. She still suffered minor bruises. pic.twitter.com/IgZURrBzfQ
Dozens were martyred and hundreds injured during the past 24 hours, as a result of the raids launched by the Israeli army on the central Gaza Strip and the city of Rafah, while the threats of a ground operation still threaten the city.
Tuesday, April 23, 2024, marked the 200th consecutive day of Israel’s large-scale military offensive on the Gaza Strip. Nearly 90 percent of the population is displaced, with many living in dire conditions in tents, and the few remaining schools used as shelters. Despite the International Court of Justice’s provisional measures orders to prevent genocide, Israel persists in threatening a large-scale ground invasion of Rafah, home to over 1.2 million residents and displaced persons—a threat that has loomed over the Palestinian people there for several weeks.
Our organizations — the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), Al Mezan, and Al-Haq — are closely monitoring and deeply concerned about the escalation of Israeli airstrikes on Rafah. The tactics of intensified bombing of homes using heavy artillery and carpet bombing are alarming and have resulted in significant civilian casualties over the last six months.
Furthermore, concerns are growing as reports from Israeli media indicate that the Israeli army is purchasing thousands of tents to accommodate displaced individuals from Rafah. The Israeli plan to expand the so-called safe zone in the Al-Mawasi area, despite its limited capacity and current overcrowding with displaced persons, is also troubling. This expansion is purportedly capable of housing up to a million people, but the reality of its size (extending about a kilometer deep from the borders of Khan Younis to the borders of Rafah) raises doubts about its feasibility and effectiveness in addressing the humanitarian crisis.
Our organizations have repeatedly warned and expressed serious concerns about the potential consequences of a large-scale ground invasion on Rafah, similar to what has occurred in most governorates of the Gaza Strip. Such an invasion could lead to horrific massacres and raise scenarios of a second Nakba. The densely populated city, with hundreds of thousands of displaced individuals residing in tents and heavily relying on aid from the Rafah and Kerem Abu Salem Crossings, exacerbates the vulnerability of its population. The closure of these vital crossings during a potential Israeli attack would leave no suitable alternatives for the evacuation of Rafah residents and those already displaced within the city. This concern is compounded by the continued attacks and destruction that have altered the landscape of the Gaza Strip.
According to the latest update from the Palestinian Ministry of Health on April 23, 2024, Israeli military attacks over the span of 200 days have led to the killing of 34,183 Palestinians, including 14,778 children and around 10,000 women, and the injury of 77,143 others. One child is killed or injured every 10 minutes in Gaza. An estimated seven to eight thousand Palestinians are still missing, buried under the rubble, or in the streets. There have been ongoing efforts over the past few days to retrieve some of them, amid reports of finding individuals bound and buried in mass graves in Nasser and Al-Shifa Hospitals, indicating the possibility of them being killed by the Israeli army after their arrest. All of this requires the opening of a serious and independent international investigation. It is worth noting that citizens have been forced to create temporary graves in hospitals, markets, streets, and near destroyed homes due to the impossibility of transporting the people killed to official cemeteries.
After 200 days of horrific genocidal acts in Gaza, the real objectives of the attack are the continuation of the 76-year-long ongoing Nakba and the erasure and genocidal destruction of the Palestinian people in Gaza. Israel is laying the groundwork to fulfill its settler colonial plan of colonizing Gaza, played out in real time on the world’s television sets and screens. We warn that the risks of displacement are still present unless the international community intervenes effectively to prevent them.
Our organisations reiterate that silence from the international community is no longer acceptable, and mere statements of condemnation are not enough in the face of genocide and systematic and deliberate crimes to destroy the foundations of Palestinian life.
Our organizations warn of the threat of an Israeli ground invasion on Rafah. Such an attack would represent the peak of the Israeli attack on Gaza, with the intent of inflicting the highest number of casualties and civilian victims, potentially leading to mass forcible displacement towards the Egyptian borders, located mere meters away. This scenario threatens the acceleration of the Nakba on the Palestinian people and is an approaching reality.
We urgently call on the permanent members of the UN Security Council, the UN Secretary-General, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, and the High Commissioner for Human Rights to swiftly intervene to avert the continuing Nakba and to halt the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Our organisations warn Third States that they may be complicit in genocide through their unlimited military and financial support of Israel’s aggression on the Gaza Strip. We remind the Third States of their erga omnes obligations to protect the Palestinian people from genocide.
We further urge the international community to secure the right of return of Palestinians to their areas of residence and ensure the provision of essential services, including access to clean water, reopening closed roads, and other necessary support.
We emphasize that the key to resolving the crisis in the region forever lies in ending the illegal occupation, dismantling the Israeli settler-colonial apartheid regime, revoking all discriminatory and inhumane laws, policies, and practices against the Palestinian people as a whole, and enabling the Palestinian people to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination and the return of refugees without any conditions or restrictions.
A man carries the shrouded body of a child killed in overnight Israeli bombardment, in the front of the morgue of a hospital in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on April 27, 2024, as the conflict between Israel and the militant group Hamas continues. (Photo by AFP)
‘Israel’ has once again committed a new massacre in the Nuseirat Camp in Gaza. Early this morning, eight Palestinians, including women and children, were killed, and dozens were injured due to Israeli bombings of two residential homes.
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) aircraft targeted a house in the al-Sultan neighborhood, resulting in the deaths of four Palestinians, including a baby girl who was transported to the hospital in pieces. Another four Palestinians were killed and around 30 more were injured in a bombing of another house in the same camp. The Al-Mughraqa region also faced heavy bombardment.
This innocent bany girl was killed last night in an Israeli airstrike targeting the Awadallah family home in Rafah. pic.twitter.com/fxvehFngXf
Furthermore, the IOF continued its attacks on Gaza City, severely damaging at least three houses in the al-Shujaiya neighborhood. Palestinian media reported an additional six Palestinians killed in a bombing targeting a house in Rafah, south of Gaza.
Israel's military assassinated the eldest daughter of Palestinian Professor Refaat Al-Areer, Al-Shaimaa, along with her husband and newborn baby. pic.twitter.com/TLercGBhWq
In a related but equally aggressive development, nearly 400 decomposing bodies were uncovered in Khan Younis Nasser Hospital as authorities began recovering the bodies of Palestinians killed during the hospital’s siege and subsequent invasion by Israeli forces. Many of the bodies, including those of children, showed signs of torture.
A horrific massacre in the vicinity of Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, where a mass grave was found containing the bodies of Palestinian citizens executed in cold blood by the Israeli army.
Evidence shows that the victims, including children dressed in patient clothing, were shot… pic.twitter.com/eZhilOssiq
Gaza’s Civil Defense has condemned the atrocities committed at the medical facility, demanding an international investigation into the war crimes committed by Israeli occupation forces. The occupation’s troops were accused of burying bodies in plastic bags at a depth of three meters, accelerating their decomposition, and even burying at least 20 people alive.
In confecting a media row about the policing of London marches against genocide, the Israel lobby knew it would score a victory, whatever happened
A gruesome discovery was made in Gaza last weekend. Some 300 Palestinian bodies – of men, women and children – were unearthed from an unmarked mass grave in the courtyard of the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.
Even given Israel’s record of committing relentless atrocities in Gaza over the past six months – killing tens of thousands of Palestinians, most of them women and children – this one stood out.
Some bodies were reported to have been found with their hands and feet bound, and stripped of clothing, strongly suggesting they had been executed during a three-month invasion of the city by Israeli soldiers. Others were said to be decapitated, or their skin and organs removed.
Some 10,000 people had been sheltering at Gaza’s second-largest hospital when it was attacked back in February. At the time there were reports of patients and staff being picked off by sniper fire. The medical facility was left in ruins.
Another 400 people are still reported missing in Khan Younis. More mass graves are already being uncovered.
Referring to some of the bodies, Yamen Abu Suleiman, a civil defence leader in Khan Younis, told CNN: “We do not know if they were buried alive or executed. Most of the bodies are decomposed.”
The revelations from Khan Younis fit a pattern that has been gradually emerging as Israeli troops have pulled back.
Last week, the latest of several mass graves were found at Gaza’s largest hospital, al-Shifa. Israel left the area earlier this month after destroying the hospital. Together, the graves are reported to have contained hundreds of bodies.
Further unmarked graves have been discovered in Beit Lahiya.
The United Nations human rights chief, Volker Turk, said he was “horrified” by the reports.
Groundswell of anger
Back in the 1990s, the identification of mass graves of thousands of Muslim men from the Bosnian town of Srebrenica led to the setting up of a special war crimes tribunal of the International Criminal Court. It ruled in 2001 that a genocide had occurred in Srebrenica committed by Bosnian Serbs – a judgment later confirmed by the International Court of Justice, sometimes referred to as the World Court.
In the circumstances, one might have expected the discovery of mass graves of hundreds of Palestinians to be front-page news – especially since the same World Court ruled three months ago that a “plausible” case had been made that Israel was committing genocidal acts in Gaza.
And yet, like so many other Israeli atrocities, this one barely caused a ripple in the news cycle.
Months ago, the establishment British media largely lost interest in reporting on the continuing slaughter in Gaza. The contrast with the media’s early coverage of Ukraine has been stark. The discovery of a mass grave containing some 100 bodies in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha – blamed on Russian troops – caused international outrage.
Bucha quickly became a byword for Russian savagery, and the discovery sustained months of calls for Russian leaders to be tried for genocide.
The general indifference of British media outlets to the mass graves found in Gaza is hugely convenient for Britain’s two main political parties.
The UK has avoided pushing for a ceasefire to end Israel’s bloodletting in Gaza. It refuses to stop selling Israel weapons and components that have helped in the killing of Palestinians – and potentially aid workers too.
On Israel’s say-so, Britain has cut funding to Unrwa, the UN aid agency best placed to stop a famine Israel is wilfully inducing in the enclave by blocking aid. And a British abstention helped foil a vote in the United Nations Security Council this month to recognise Palestine as a state, something 140 other nations have already done.
The Labour party has offered only muted opposition.
Bipartisan support in the UK for Israel’s plausible genocide has provoked a groundswell of public anger, including regular protests in London that attract hundreds of thousands of marchers.
Pro-Israel hoax
Once again, however, the British media has seemed far less interested in reporting Israeli atrocities than in imputing malign motivations to large sections of the British public incensed by what is happening in Gaza.
It was quite extraordinary that the discovery of mass graves in the enclave was almost completely drowned out by an all-too-obvious hoax pulled by an Israel lobbyist.
Gideon Falter, chief executive of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, has been trying to shut down the peaceful London marches calling for an end to the butchering of men, women and children in Gaza since Israel began its military assault more than six months ago.
In Falter’s words, the hundreds of thousands of people who turn out regularly to call for a ceasefire – including a large bloc of Jews – are “lawless mobs” posing a direct threat to Jews like himself.
He has found powerful allies in the government. Home Secretary James Cleverly has said the march organisers have “real evil intent”, while his predecessor Suella Braverman labelled the protests calling for a ceasefire as “hate marches”.
Both have put pressure on the police to ban the protests for being supposedly antisemitic
There is precisely no evidence for any of these claims. In fact, according to police figures, Glastonbury music festivalgoers were nearly four times more likely to be arrested than those attending the London marches.
Which has left the continuing mass marches a major embarrassment to both the UK government and the opposition Labour party by highlighting their continuing complicity in what has become – with revelations like the discovery of mass graves – ever more clearly a genocide.
‘Crossing the street’
That is the proper context for understanding Falter’s latest intervention.
As the Metropolitan police are only too aware, Falter’s group, along with other pro-Israel activists, have every incentive to engineer a provocation to add to the already considerable pressure on the police to ban the London marches and further curtail a fundamental civil liberty: the right to protest.
A video on social media shows Falter being confronted by police in a previous incident in which he tried to drive a large van with pro-Israel messages down the march route.
But his breakthrough came this month when, accompanied by an Israeli-trained security detail and a film crew, he tried repeatedly to break through a police line along the route and walk against the flow of the march. Responsible for maintaining public order at large protests, Met officers stopped him.
There are well-known rules imposed by the police surrounding large protests on highly charged ideological issues like this one.
The marchers are not allowed to stray from the route determined by the police, and opponents – whether Israel apologists like Falter or Islamophobic white nationalists – are not allowed to approach and antagonise the marchers. The job of the police is to keep the sides apart.
Blocked by officers, Falter had his script ready. He simply insisted on his right to “cross the street” as a Jew going about his business.
Given the way the public discourse about Israel and antisemitism has been malevolently manipulated by the British establishment over the past eight years – after the long-time Palestinian solidarity activist Jeremy Corbyn was elected Labour leader – Falter could not lose in this encounter.
If the police arrested him, he would have filmed evidence that he was being victimised as a Jew by an antisemitic police force.
If they refused to let him “cross the street”, he would have filmed proof that the march was indeed filled with Jew haters posing a threat to his safety.
And if the police failed in their duties and let him and his retinue walk against the flow of the packed protest, he – like anyone attempting to do this – would at the very least be jostled. Based on the established credulity of the establishment media in covering antisemitism, Falter was presumably confident that this could be spun as a hate crime against him.
Ugly politics
The police clearly seemed to understand Falter’s game plan. They appeared extremely reluctant to arrest him, even though a former chief superintendent, Dal Babu, observed that, in trying to push past them, Falter could have been charged with “assault on a police officer and breach of the peace”.
Instead, the officers patiently argued for at least a quarter of an hour with Falter, pointing out that he could bypass the march using a different route.
But in this lengthy, testy encounter, the Campaign Against Antisemitism boss finally got what he wanted. One officer made a slip-up, suggesting that the problem was that the skullcap-wearing Falter was “openly Jewish”.
As noted, lots of Jews attend the march and do so under banners declaring that they are Jews. Despite being “openly Jewish”, all say they are warmly welcomed by other demonstrators.
The officer’s mistake was understandable. Israel apologists and the British establishment spent years manipulating the public discourse to conflate Israel, the political nationalist ideology of Zionism and Jewishness in a blatant ploy to vilify supporters of Corbyn, the anti-racist former Labour leader, as antisemites.
The problem wasn’t that Falter is “openly Jewish”, it was that he is a vocal, openly Zionist supporter of Israel, one who makes excuses for its genocide and vilifies those who are opposed to the bloodletting. It is not his ethnicity or religion that are a provocation, it is his ugly politics.
But with the officer’s comment in the can, Falter released a heavily edited version of his confrontation with the police to an establishment media only too willing – at least, initially – to swallow two completely implausible ideas Falter was peddling.
First, that the police officer’s comment was proof that the Met is institutionally racist against Jews and that is why it has allowed the anti-genocide marches to go ahead. Falter called for the head of the Met, Sir Mark Rowley, to be sacked.
And second, and more importantly, that the officer’s comment was proof that the marches are indeed “hate marches” consisting of – as he declared to a BBC interviewer – “racists, extremists and terrorist sympathisers”.
Accusations of ‘fakery’
It may all have been fake news but it fitted an agenda the media has been promoting for years: that anything more than the lightest-touch criticism of Israel is evidence of antisemitism.
The political and media class have been increasingly struggling to credibly sustain that idea in the face of Israel committing a genocide – but Falter’s video served briefly as a shot in the arm.
From one police officer’s brief, verbal slip-up, he was able to fire up a national debate that took as its premise the idea that police were colluding with “antisemitic hate marches”.
On the back foot, the Met hurriedly agreed to meet Falter and “Jewish community leaders”, seemingly to get their advice on what needed to be done about the marches.
Sunday’s BBC evening news reported that pressure was growing on the Met “to get the balance right between allowing legitimate protest and cracking down on hate speech and intimidation”.
Good Morning Britain’s hosts fawned over Falter on Monday morning, accepting uncritically that the march posed a threat to him as a Jew and expressing concern that the police were not getting that balance right.
But quite unlike the years-long accusations of fake antisemitism whipped up by Falter and others to oust Corbyn, one that was enthusiastically amplified by the state-corporate media, the Met had powerful allies inside the establishment that pushed back.
Before Falter’s hoax could properly take hold, Sky released a much longer video of his confrontation with the police. It showed that they had blocked his way after identifying him as a provocateur. Police can be heard accusing him of being “disingenuous” and telling him to stop “running into protesters”.
Former police officers, including Babu, were invited on TV to offer a counter-narrative that cast Falter in a far less sympathetic light.
By Tuesday, the Met chief Rowley was feeling confident enough to go on the attack, praising the officer at the centre of the row and accusing pro-Israel activists of using “fakery” to undermine the Met.
Favourite tactic
But even wounded, Falter emerged decisively as the victor.
No one is talking – as they should be – about why groups like the Campaign Against Antisemitism, which regularly and so visibly meddle deeply in British politics in the interests of a foreign power, Israel, are treated as charities.
Instead, Falter has given the political and media class more ammunition to argue that the marches need to be banned, and has put police decision-making under yet more scrutiny.
Whatever bullishness Rowley exhibited in public, his battles behind the scenes against a government keen to silence the marches will have been made far more complicated.
But, more importantly, Falter has played an invaluable role in bolstering Israel’s favourite tactic. He has deflected attention in the UK away from its war crimes – including the mass graves in Khan Younis – to squabbles entirely divorced from reality about whether Jews are safe from the anti-war movement.
Precisely the same dynamic is playing out in the United States, where the establishment – from President Joe Biden down – is painting peaceful protests on college campuses against the genocide as hotbeds of hatred and antisemitism.
There, things are even more out of hand, with the police called in to make arrests of students and faculty.
In both cases, the real debate – about why Britain and the US are still actively supporting the bombing and starvation of Gaza’s population after six months of genocide – has once more been muffled by the Israel lobby’s fake news.
Establishment media have once again seized on any pretext available to them to focus on a twig rather than the forest.
Truth obscured
The pattern is hard to miss: the British establishment, including the government and the BBC, are working hand in hand to help Israel and its genocide apologists win the public relations battle.
Only briefly, when the honour of the police – the establishment’s fist – got a bloodied nose, was there a degree of pushback.
Take, for example, the day in January when the World Court ruled there was a “plausible” case made by South Africa’s lawyers that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. That same day Israel successfully sabotaged the devastating news with a scoop of its own.
It alleged that some 12 Unrwa staff members it had seized in Gaza – out of a total of 13,000 in the enclave on the agency’s payroll – had confessed to taking part in Hamas’ attack on 7 October, in which some 1,150 Israelis were killed.
Israel demanded western states immediately cut all funding to Unrwa. It has been Israel’s long-term goal to eliminate the refugee agency and permanently erase the rights of Palestinians to return to homes their families were expelled from in 1948 in what is now Israel.
Most western capitals, including the UK, dutifully complied, even though the decision was certain to plunge Gaza even deeper into a famine Israel has been engineering as part of its genocidal policies.
But the announcement’s timing was important too. Western media focused their coverage on a story about Unrwa that should have been marginal, even were it true.
The World Court’s finding that Israel was plausibly committing genocide was far more significant. Nonetheless, reporting on the ruling – especially the fact that the court suspected Israel was carrying out genocidal acts – was entirely overshadowed by the claims against Unrwa.
This week, months on, an independent review commissioned by the UN and led by the former French foreign minister, Catherine Colonna, found that Israel has still failed to produce any evidence to support its allegations against Unrwa.
But just as with Falter’s hoax, the goal of such accusations by Israel is never to expose the truth. The aim is to distract from the truth.
The same can be said of Israel’s still unsubstantiated claims of unprecedented savagery committed by Hamas on 7 October, from beheading babies to carrying out systematic mass rape.
None of these allegations, which have been widely regurgitated by the establishment western media, have ever been backed up with evidence. Whenever testimonies have been scrutinised, they have unravelled.
But all these claims have served a purpose. They keep western publics focused on evil humanitarian aid workers and evil anti-war protesters rather than the kind of evil that dares in broad daylight to kill 15,000 children, destroy hospitals, and hide bodies in mass graves.
TOPSHOT – A general view shows destroyed building and the rubble of the al-Faruq mosque on February 22, 2024, following an overnight Israeli air strike in Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip, amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP)
The Israeli occupation’s ruthless aggression against the Gaza Strip continues, with civilians bearing the brunt of the violence as inhabited homes and vital infrastructure are targeted relentlessly.
In pictures | This is what all remains of the Al-Jamal family home, which was bombed by Israeli warplanes last night upon the heads of its civilian occupants, killing multiple civilians, including children. pic.twitter.com/ds2xk8JevG
Reports from Palestinian media highlight the latest atrocities committed by Israeli forces, including the bombing of a house belonging to the Al-Amour family in Al-Fokhari, Khan Yunis. The airstrikes and artillery shelling have caused multiple casualties, with deaths reported in towns throughout the Gaza Strip.
BREAKING: Casualties among Palestinian civilians in an Israeli artillery shelling east of Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. pic.twitter.com/rBjBgy38pb
One particularly tragic incident occurred in Rafah, where Israeli forces bombed a house belonging to the Al-Jamal family, resulting in the deaths of 5 citizens, including women and children. This horrifying attack underscores the indiscriminate nature of the occupation’s violence.
Palestinians inspect the rubble of the Al-Jamal family home, which was destroyed by Israeli warplanes last night upon the heads of its civilian occupants, killing multiple civilians, including children.
The death toll in the Gaza Strip continues to rise, with thousands of victims still trapped under rubble or stranded on roads due to the ongoing conflict. Despite the overwhelming humanitarian crisis, the occupation forces obstruct efforts by ambulance and civil defense crews to provide aid.
Gaza still amazes the world with its incredible resistance despite all forms of oppression it has been facing since the start of the brutal Israeli aggression on October 7. On the day 192 of the war, both people and resistance stand firm in face of the Israeli massacres and deliberate starvation.
Israeli attacks on Monday took place in several areas across the besieged enclave with the concentration was on Gaza Strip’s center.
Palestinian media reported attacks on two mosques, a UN-run school and the Malaysian school in the Nuseirat refugee camp.
Israeli occupation forces target civilians and journalists in Nusseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. pic.twitter.com/Ni6Q5euIDM
Also in central Gaza, several residential homes and a market were subjected to Israeli strikes.
Elsewhere in northern Gaza, the Firas market was targeted.
Strikes were also reported in the southern city of Rafah, according to Palestinian media.
Health Ministry in Gaza reported that 68 people were martyred and 94 others were injured in 7 massacres in the past 24 hours. It put the death toll of the Israeli aggression on Gaza Strip at 33,545.
The ministry added that the number of injured people reached 76,094.
Destruction “Disproportionate to Anything One Can Imagine”
Meanwhile on Monday, Civil Defense in Gaza said on its Telegram channel that it recovered 13 more decomposing bodies in Khan Younis’ Al-Balad and Al-Amal neighborhoods.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs described the destruction in the southern city of Khan Younis as profound.
In a post on X the UN office said a team has visited Khan Younis and witnessed destroyed homes, schools and hospitals as well as unexploded ordinance.
🔺 Homes, schools and hospitals severely damaged 🔺 Roads reduced to dirt tracks 🔺 Civilians at grave risk of unexploded ordnance 🔺 Collapsed services
Yesterday, a @UN team visited #Gaza's Khan Younis where they witnessed profound destruction.
For his part, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), said that the organization and its partners went to Khan Younis on Sunday to assess the health facilities there.
.@WHO and partners went to Khan Younis yesterday to assess the health facilities there. The team described the destruction as "disproportionate to anything one can imagine". No building or road is intact, there is only rubble and dirt.
Also on Monday, Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad resistance group released a video showing fighters targeting Israeli concentrations east Jabalia.
سرايا القدس: مشاهد من استهداف قوات الاحتلال وتحصيناتها شرق جباليا بالأسلحة الرشاشة pic.twitter.com/9fMBdoQDZw
On the other hand, a security and military studies professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies said that Hamas’s armed wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, has surprised many military analysts over the past seven months.
Talking to Al-Jazeera, Omar Ashour said Al-Qassam Brigades was completely outnumbered and outgunned in all domains – sea, air and land – as well as electronic and cyberwarfare.
He added that the resistance group has created its own environment to be able to fight by constructing multilevel underground tunnels that doubled or tripled the size of Gaza
“Many Hamas fighters remain, and Israel has killed only one of its three top commanders. If Israel wants to achieve its aim of destroying Hamas, the fight will take a lot longer than the Israeli military expected, and it may not even be possible,” Ashour said, as quoted by Al-Jazeera.
Palestinians walk through the destruction in the wake of an Israeli air and ground offensive in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP)
Israeli aggression against Gaza continues for the 190th day, with a worsening humanitarian situation and increasing casualties.
Two Palestinians from the town of Beit Hanoun were killed early on Saturday in an airstrike carried out by Israeli occupation aircraft in the vicinity of the residential city of Sheikh Zayed in the northern Gaza Strip, marking the 190th day of aggression against the Strip.
Occupation aircraft conducted massive airstrikes on the Central Governorate, targeting the al-Zaytoun and al-Daraj neighborhoods in Gaza City, as well as the al-Fokhari area southeast of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Additionally, occupation artillery shelled the eastern parts of Jabalia in the north of Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip.
On Friday evening, occupation aircraft conducted an airstrike on a house owned by the al-Assi family in Zarqa, central Gaza City, resulting in the deaths of at least five Palestinians and injuries to 30 others. Additionally, two individuals were killed and several others injured in an Israeli bombing north of the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip.
Several civilians were killed, and others sustained injuries due to a bombing targeting Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip. Concurrently, military aircraft raided a house belonging to the Abu Sameh family at the Mekki roundabout in the al-Maghazi camp in the central Strip.
Occupation warplanes conducted an airstrike on Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, civil defense and ambulance teams successfully retrieved the bodies of ten individuals who were killed in various areas of the city of Khan Younis in the south.
It was reported that 89 martyrs and 120 wounded people were transferred to Gaza hospitals with others remaining unaccounted for.
Many remain trapped beneath the rubble, as rescue teams struggle to reach them. The scenes of destruction and despair paint a harrowing picture of the daily reality faced by the people of Gaza. Meanwhile, the Government Media Office in Gaza announced that the Israeli occupation army targeted three journalists during their media coverage in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
Palestinians inspect the rubble of the Yassin Mosque at Shati refugee camp in Gaza City (photo by AP).
Israeli occupation army proceeds its brutal aggression on Gaza Strip, with military operation being waged in the enclave’s central area of Nuseirat.
Palestinian media reported massive raids in the refugee camp of Nuseirat overnight. The strikes were followed by a military push on the ground into the northern part of the Nuseirat camp.
Al-Jazeera reported that when the military announced its withdrawal from southern Khan Younis, it kept an entire brigade in the area that separates northern Gaza from the south, adding that Nuseirat is very close to deploy troops to the area.
Israeli military forces are carrying out a ground incursion in Nuseirat Camp, central Gaza amid heavy air raids and intense shelling. pic.twitter.com/zQQQfeXZpO
Israeli occupation army announced it launched a “targeted operation” against Hamas in the central Gaza Strip overnight, on the outskirts of Nuseirat, an area where ground troops have not yet operated during the ongoing war.
“Before troops of the 162nd Division’s 401st Armored Brigade, Nahal Infantry Brigade, and other units maneuvered into the area, the Israeli Air Force and 215th Artillery Regiment carried out strikes against dozens of Hamas targets, including tunnel infrastructure,” the occupation army declared.
More Strikes, Death Toll
In conjunction with air strikes on Nuseirat camp, Israeli gunboats shelled homes in the Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, killing multiple civilians, according to local sources cited by the Wafa news agency.
Elsewhere in the southern district of Rafah, Israeli strikes killed at least eight people, the Wafa news agency reports, citing medical sources.
Five of the martyrs were killed when Israeli warplanes struck a group of people near a cemetery in eastern Rafah, while three were killed by strikes that hit Rafah’s Janina neighborhood, also to the east, the news report said.
Breaking | Israeli occupation attack drones target a group of Palestinians near the eastern cemetery, east of Rafah. pic.twitter.com/TTjzPnXDo6
Health Ministry in Gaza announced that the death toll of the Israeli aggression now stands at 33,545, while the number of injured people reaches 76,094 since October 7.
It added that, Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip killed 63 people and wounded 45 others over the past 24 hours.
UNICEF Convoy Hit
Meanwhile, a UNICEF aid convoy was hit by Israeli gunfire in the latest attack on humanitarian relief workers in Gaza.
Tess Ingram, a UNICEF spokesperson, was in a convoy hit by Israeli gunfire as it tried to deliver aid to northern Gaza.
She said the vehicles were at a “holding point” – a designated area where cars have to wait until a checkpoint is ready to receive them.
“We were waiting there when gunfire broke out in the vicinity. The gunfire came from the direction of the checkpoint towards civilians who then ran away from the checkpoint and the gunfire hit us,” Ingram said.
🚨Breaking: UNICEF spokesperson recounts Israeli occupation forces shooting at their vehicle today while waiting at an Israeli checkpoint to enter and deliver aid to #Gaza. pic.twitter.com/j9j55u6qnK
Palestinians walk through the destruction in Khan Younis.
Israeli occupation launched aggressive raids on several areas across the Gaza Strip central and southern areas on Tuesday, as details have emerged on the latest proposal on ceasefire.
Media reported that Israeli air raids were more aggressive on Tuesday, noting that they mainly concentrated in the central area, particularly on Deir Al-Balah.
In addition to Deir Al-Balah, strikes were also reported in Maghazi refugee camp, where Israeli warplanes bombed a council building and in Rafah, where quadcopters kept shooting in the eastern part of the southern city.
#BREAKING QNN, Press sources: The Israeli Force bombed and blew up a residential square in the eastern areas of Deir Al-Balah, Al-Masdar and Al-Maghazi in the central Gaza Strip. pic.twitter.com/7cHX4we0kW
Meanwhile, in the city of Khan Younis, more bodies have been removed from under the rubble, some fully decomposed after being there for three or four months. About 80 bodies have been recovered so far.
Also on Tuesday, Israeli warplanes bombed two homes in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood, in northern Gaza Strip, leaving casualties.
The level of destruction in the eastern part of the city has made it unrecognizable, according to people who have checked on what remains of their homes.
#BREAKING QNN, Press sources: The Israeli Force bombed and blew up a residential square in the eastern areas of Deir Al-Balah, Al-Masdar and Al-Maghazi in the central Gaza Strip. pic.twitter.com/7cHX4we0kW
Meanwhile, in the city of Khan Younis, more bodies have been removed from under the rubble, some fully decomposed after being there for three or four months. About 80 bodies have been recovered so far.
Also on Tuesday, Israeli warplanes bombed two homes in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood, in northern Gaza Strip, leaving casualties.
The level of destruction in the eastern part of the city has made it unrecognizable, according to people who have checked on what remains of their homes.
Internally displaced Palestinians return to their homes in Khan Yunis after pullout of the Israeli troops from the province, only to find most of their homes reduced to rubble or significantly damaged. pic.twitter.com/V3CJMMKMnc
Meanwhile, reports emerge on details related to the awaited ceasefire in the war-torn enclave, where more than 32,000 people have been martyred and the number of injured people neared 76,000.
Details on Ceasefire Proposal
Mediators presented a new ceasefire proposal to Hamas and the Israeli occupation that would include a six-week pause in fighting and a swap of 40 Hamas-held captives for at least 700 Palestinians imprisoned by the Zionist authorities.
The proposal was presented to delegations from Hamas and the Zionist entity during the latest round of negotiations in Cairo over the weekend, according to Egyptian officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Al-Jazeera reported.
Hamas would be required to provide a list of the captives it will release, as well as a list of Palestinian prisoners whose freedom it seeks. The proposal also includes the return of “a significant number” of Palestinians to northern Gaza.
The proposal stipulates that ‘Israel’ gradually dismantle checkpoints it built on a new road that split the strip in half to prevent the return of Palestinians to the north.
For its part, Hamas has issued a press statement saying it was studying a proposal reached in Cairo despite concerns that Israel’s position in negotiations “remains stubborn”.
Earlier, Netanyahu has threatened that “there is a date” for the Israeli assault on Rafah where more than 1 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering.
رام الله | ألقت المكالمة «العاصفة» بين الرئيس الأميركي جو بايدن، ورئيس وزراء الاحتلال بنيامين نتنياهو، بثقلها على وسائل الإعلام الإسرائيلية التي أشبعت الموضوع تحليلاً ونقاشاً، إذ حمل ما أُعلن عن مضمون المكالمة مؤشرات إلى عدم رضى في مؤسسات القرار الأميركي عن أداء نتنياهو. وعلى رغم أن الولايات المتحدة لا تزال حريصة على إظهار دعمها «الاستراتيجي» لإسرائيل، إلا أن مسار المعركة وما حمله من إخفاقات، وتداعياتها الإنسانية والدولية على صورتي واشنطن و«تل أبيب» ومكانتهما، تحمل إدارة بايدن على رفع سقف خطابها، والتلميح إلى إمكانية تغيير سياستها، في حال عدم استجابة حليفتها لمطالبها، ولا سيما في الجانب الإغاثي والإنساني.والواقع أن ما وصل بالتململ الدولي إلى ذروته، وصولاً إلى المكالمة الهاتفية الأخيرة، هو استهداف إسرائيل طواقم الإغاثة الدولية في غزة، والذي حرّك دول العالم لممارسة ضغوط على الاحتلال، وأشغل خطوط هواتف زعماء تلك الدول، بينما عملية عسكرية استمرت لأسابيع في أكبر مجمع طبي في غزة، قتل خلالها جيش العدو مئات الأطفال والنساء، لم تحرك أحداً. وفي هذا السياق، قالت صحيفة «يديعوت أحرونوت» إن «وزير الخارجية الأميركي، أنتوني بلينكن، حذّر من تغير في اتجاه السياسية الأميركية، لكنّ الولايات المتحدة لم تهدد بشكل صريح في موضوع الأسلحة. هذه هي الخطوات الحرجة التي قد تُتخذ». وأضافت الصحيفة أن «مكالمة بايدن- نتنياهو شملت أقوالاً صعبة وإشكالية بالنسبة إلى إسرائيل، وتحذيراً حول الوضع الإنساني في غزة»، مشيرة إلى أن «بايدن عبّر عن غضب حقيقي بعد مقتل عمال الإغاثة الدولية، وسط إحباط ويأس، لكنه طلب التوصل إلى صفقة في الوقت الذي ترفض فيه حماس» الصفقة المطروحة.
ومع ازدياد منسوب الضغوط الأميركية، اتخذت إسرائيل، بعد الكشف عن فحوى المكالمة الهاتفية، عدة قرارات بدت أنها استجابة سريعة لطلبات بايدن، إذ أعلن الجيش الإسرائيلي أنه يأخذ «على محمل الجد الحادث الخطير الذي أودى بحياة 7 عمال إغاثة أبرياء ونعرب عن حزننا للخسارة»، مشيراً إلى أن الاستهداف «نتج من خلل وخطأ في التحديد واتخاذ القرار بشكل مخالف لأوامر إطلاق النار»، وأن «نتائج التحقيق الداخلي تظهر أنه كان من الممكن منع» حادث الاستهداف. وفي السياق نفسه، أعلن الجيش إقالة رئيس هيئة الأركان هرتسي هليفي، قائد لواء «ناحال» (أحد ألوية النخبة المشاة)، وضابط آخر برتبة عقيد، فضلاً عن توبيخ قائد المنطقة الجنوبية، وقائد الفرقة 162 المدرّعة، وقائد لواء. ويُضاف إلى ذلك، اتخاذ «خطوات فورية» لزيادة المساعدات الإنسانية إلى قطاع غزة، في محاولة لامتصاص الضغوط الدولية عقب الهجوم على قافلة منظّمة «ورلد سنترال كيتشن» في منطقة دير البلح. وبحسب ما صدر عن مكتب نتنياهو، فقد خوّل «الكابينت» كلاً من بنيامين نتنياهو، ووزير الحرب، يوآف غالانت، والوزير بيني غانتس، «اتخاذ خطوات فورية لزيادة المساعدات الإنسانية للسكان المدنيين في غزة»، لـ«منع حدوث أزمة إنسانية، وهي خطوات ضرورية لضمان استمرار القتال وتحقيق أهداف الحرب»، من خلال بعض المعابر البرية.
اتّخذت إسرائيل عدة قرارات بدت أنها استجابة سريعة لطلبات بايدن
لكن ما جرى الإعلان عنه، سرعان ما عاكسه وزير الأمن القومي، إيتمار بن غفير، وهو أحد أعضاء «الكابينت»؛ إذ نفى صحة بيان نتنياهو، ووصفه بأنه «ببساطة، غير صحيح»، وكشف أن أعضاء «الكابينت» لم يصوّتوا على «تخويل غالانت وغانتس» بشأن زيادة المساعدات الإنسانية لغزة. وأكد بن غفير أنه وغيره من الوزراء «عارضوا الاقتراح، ومن المؤسف أن رئيس الحكومة تجنّب طرحه للتصويت». واعتبر أن «الطريقة الصحيحة لإعادة الرهائن هي وقف إدخال المساعدات إلى غزة، واشتراط الحصول على خطوات إنسانية مقابل خطوات إنسانية. ومن المؤسف أنه بدلاً من الدخول إلى رفح، هناك من يفضّل الانخراط في إدخال معدات إلى غزة تنتهي مباشرة في أيدي حماس». وختم بن غفير بالدعوة إلى «اجتياح فوري لرفح». وفي وقت لاحق، انتقد بن غفير قرار إقالة الضباط، معتبراً أنه «تخلٍّ عن المقاتلين في خضم الحرب وخطأ فادح ينم عن ضعف»، مضيفاً أنه «حتى لو كانت هناك أخطاء في التعرف على هوية الهدف فيجب دعم الجنود لا أن نقيم لهم محكمة ميدانية».
وتعقيباً على هذا الجدل، أكدت «القناة 12» العبرية أن «الكابينت صوّت ليلة أمس على قرار زيادة إدخال المساعدات إلى غزة قبل وصول بن غفير إلى الاجتماع»، ليسارع الأخير إلى القول: «لقد صوّتوا على هذا القرار قبل وصولي، على الرغم من أنهم كانوا يعلمون أنني كنتُ في اجتماع أمني»، في تراجع عن بيانه الأول. وأفادت قناة «كان» العبرية، بدورها، بتحذير المسؤولين الأمنيين ومسؤولي وزارة الخارجية الذين كانوا حاضرين في اجتماع «الكابينت»، الوزراء، من أنهم تلقّوا أخيراً «إشارات واضحة» من نظرائهم في الولايات المتحدة وأوروبا مفادها أن إسرائيل ستواجه عقوبات غير مسبوقة ضدها، وحتى حظراً لتصدير الأسلحة إذا لم تتم زيادة المساعدات الإنسانية للقطاع على الفور.
The Israeli occupation commits a total of 5 massacres in 24 hours only.
The Health Ministry in Gaza reported that the Israeli occupation committed a total of 5 massacres against Palestinian families in 24 hours only, killing 54 and injuring 82.
This brings the total number of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip since the Israeli aggression on Gaza started on October 7 to 33,091, in addition to 75,750 injuries.
Compounding the devastation, some victims are still trapped under rubble and on roads, presumed dead, with the Israeli occupation hindering the arrival of ambulance and civil defense teams.
The Israeli occupation continues its relentless and genocidal campaign against Gaza for 182 consecutive days, targeting different regions of the Strip and enforcing a complete blockade. This has further worsened the already dire humanitarian situation, exacerbating the suffering of the people in Gaza.
Al Mayadeen‘s correspondent reported that a brutal airstrike targeted the vicinity of Sheikh Zayed City in the northern Gaza Strip.
Palestinian media outlets reported that Israeli artillery shelling targeted the central and western parts of Khan Younis city, as well as the eastern part of Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip.
Furthermore, Israeli warplanes targeted Tal al-Hawa, west of Gaza City, just before midnight. Concurrently, Israeli artillery shelling and airstrikes targeting the southwestern and southeastern neighborhoods of Khan Younis city, as well as the eastern areas of the al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, continued.
The bombing resulted in several casualties, including children and women, with some still trapped under the rubble.
If one were to draw a map, highlighting all Israeli military areas targeted by the Resistance in Gaza, and outside Gaza today, it would cover a very large expanse.
It included Khan Younis, Sheikh Ajlin in Gaza City, and Deir Al-Balah among other areas.
Al-Quds Brigades also reported that its fighters have shelled several areas inside Israel, including Naqab, Asqalan, Sderot and Nir Am.
Below are the latest statements by the two main Resistance forces in Gaza, and the Lebanese Resistance Movement Hezbollah.
The statements were communicated via their Telegram channels and are published here in their original form.
Al-Quds Brigades (Palestinian Islamic Jihad)
“After our fighters returned from the clash points in Khan Yunis, they confirmed that they carried out a number of missions:
“- Targeting a special Zionist force holed up in a building with an anti-armor and fortifications shell, and they blew up a Zionist tank with a Barq-shock explosive device in the same place.
“- Our fighters shot down a Zionist drone and took control of it.
“- Our fighters targeted gatherings of enemy soldiers with a barrage of 60-caliber standard mortar shells around Al-Amal Hospital and the Al-Arishiya area on the axes of advance west of Khan Younis.
Spokesman of Al Quds Brigades of Islamic Jihad Abu Hamza issues message for tomorrow’s Al Quds day.
All I hear is praise for Iran & Syria, Islamic Resistance in Iraq, Lebanon & Yemen, praise for Sayed Hassan Nasrallah & Sayed Abdul Malek al Houthi.pic.twitter.com/vndZ4ou31w
“In conjunction with the Omar Al-Qasim Forces, we bombarded with mortar shells a gathering of enemy soldiers and vehicles in the Sheikh Ajlin area, west of Gaza City.
“This afternoon, we bombed the Kfar Azza settlement with a barrage of heavy-caliber mortar shells.
“We bombed Netivot and its vicinity in the western Naqab with a rocket barrage in response to the Zionist enemy’s crimes against our people.
Al-Qassam Brigades (Hamas)
“Al-Qassam Brigades target a Zionist Merkava 4 tank with an Al-Yassin 105 shell east of Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.”
Hezbollah
“In support of the steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in backing their noble resistance, the Islamic Resistance executed a number of operations against positions and deployments of the Israeli enemy army at the Lebanese-Palestinian border on Thursday, 04-04-2024, as follows:
“- Eastern sector:
1- At 15:50, targeting an Israeli technical team while conducting maintenance of technical and espionage equipment at the Bayad Blida site using appropriate weapons.
2- At 17:20, targeting the Ruwaisat Al-Alam site in the occupied hills of Kfar Shuba with artillery shells.
Hezbollah:
In support of our steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, the Mujahideen targeted a movement of enemy soldiers and vehicles at the Al-Malikiyah site with artillery shells and missile weapons, and they inflicted confirmed casualties. pic.twitter.com/BH0zBlykEz
Nearly 30,000 Palestinians have been martyred since the Israeli brutal aggression on Gaza started on October 7th.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza has reported a deadly escalation in Israeli aggression, with 82 Palestinians killed and 98 injured in the past 24 hours. This brings the total number of Palestinians martred in the ongoing aggression on Gaza to nearly 73,000 since last October.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza says in its daily briefing about the Israeli war of genocide that 82 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli occupation forces in the territory during the previous 24 hours. pic.twitter.com/jQehC7XpYZ
According to reports, the Israeli occupation forces have committed 8 massacres against families in Gaza, adding to the already devastating death toll. Many victims remain trapped under rubble, as Israeli forces prevent rescue teams from reaching them.
Israeli airstrikes and artillery shelling have intensified in the Khan Younis region, with reports of residential structures being demolished near Nasser Hospital. Civilian casualties continue to rise, including a recent attack on a gathering of Palestinians awaiting aid at the Kuwaiti Roundabout.
Israeli tanks have also opened fire on the Khan Younis camp, further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Municipal headquarters and emergency services have been targeted, leaving essential services out of service.
A wounded Palestinian kid keeps calling for his mom not knowing that she was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah last night. pic.twitter.com/lydBNyUNTZ
Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, has called for urgent action to address the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini: "The renewed binding order from the ICJ yesterday is a stark reminder that the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is man-made and worsening." pic.twitter.com/ZTWHfU9Lvh
He emphasized the need for Israel to cooperate with the United Nations to facilitate the delivery of critical aid to Gaza, warning that the region is on the brink of a famine crisis.
A Palestinian father carries the body of his toddler who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/92er7X8QhG
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society has reported that 26 of its workers have been killed in the war, with 15 deliberately targeted by Israeli occupation forces while carrying out their humanitarian duties. The International Committee of the Red Cross has raised serious concerns about the safety of humanitarian personnel in Gaza.
In an attack against an Israeli unit in Khan Younis, al-Qassam fighters killed an Israeli occupation officer and injured 16 others, six of whom were in critical condition.
The Israeli occupation military revealed that one of its officers was killed in confrontations against the Palestinian Resistance in Khan Younis, while 16 Israeli soldiers were injured, six of whom were in critical condition.
Under the “permitted to be published” clause, Israeli media announced that the officer belonged to the “Egoz” unit, which operates under the “Commandos” special forces.
Israeli media also described the clash as “a difficult battle”, detailing that Resistance fighters engaged the unit’s soldiers using an RPG, targeting a building where they had been stationed, in the al-Amal neighborhood, near Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
🔴⚡️URGENT: Voici la vidéo filmée par les combattants d’Al Qassam du bâtiment qui a été bombardé hier où des soldats israéliens étaient retranchés à l'intérieur à Khan Yunis, au sud de Gaza, 7 soldats israéliens ont été tués et plusieurs autres blessés dont certains grièvement. pic.twitter.com/BgFZCE58tM
— LE RIFAIN LA NOUVELLE DU FRONT (@rifain_nouvelle) March 29, 2024
A complex rescue mission was reportedly launched, led by the Israeli “669” unit which cooperated with helicopters from the Israeli airforce, to transport the wounded to a hospital, nearly an hour following the blast.
Following the battle against the Israeli troops, the al-Qassam military fighters ambushed another Israeli unit made up of six soldiers, resulting in casualties between killed and wounded.
On March 27, the Israeli occupation forces also announced the death of a sergeant from the Givati Brigade and the wounding of 22 IOF troops in battles with the Palestinian Resistance in Gaza.
Israeli media outlets pointed out that the number of casualties equates to an entire brigade of the Israeli military, which consists of 11 regular and active brigades. The extreme reduction in manpower has had clear effects on the Israeli military’s structure, as officials have called for at least 14,500 new recruits. The events have also forced further dependence on reserve brigades, costing the Israeli occupation treasury large sums to maintain.
It is worth noting that thousands of casualties among Israeli troops go unreported when treated in field hospitals.
In a devastating Israeli raid on the north of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, today at dawn, five Palestinians, including innocent children, were killed and several others were left injured. The occupation’s aircraft mercilessly bombarded an inhabited two-story house in the Mirage area, resulting in this loss of life.
Five civilians were killed last night in the Israeli occupation's bombing of a house for the Kawarea family, south of Khan Yunis. They five are:
▫️Nadia Hassan Kawarea, 65 years old. ▫️Abdullah Raafat Jouda, 9 years old. ▫️Revan Raafat Jouda, 3 years old. ▫️Tallin Raafat Jouda,… pic.twitter.com/JfkcUU81Wk
Adding to the horrors, Israeli gunboats fired their artillery towards areas west of Rafah, while the occupation’s artillery bombed the town of Al-Qarara, north of Khan Yunis, further escalating the violence in the already war-stricken region.
Israeli tanks storm the outskirts of the town of Al-Qarara, north of Khan Yunis, amid gunfire. pic.twitter.com/yZBwO3h9fW
At dawn on Saturday, clashes and artillery shelling renewed on the vicinity of Al-Shifa Medical Complex
The occupation forces bombed with artillery northwest of Beit Hanoun and the vicinity of Jabalia camp in the north of the Gaza Strip, and north of Nuseirat camp in the center of the Gaza Strip.
The IOF siege on Al-Shifa Hospital Continues:
• 240 patients, those accompanying them, and dozens of healthcare workers detained
Yesterday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced, in its daily statistical report, that the death toll from the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Strip had risen to 32,070 martyrs and 74,298 injuries, on the 168th day of the ongoing aggression, since October 7, 2023.
Yesterday a woman had to carry 3 babies towards Central Gaza after being forced to flee by foot when the IOF laid siege on Al-Shifa Hospital in Northern Gaza. pic.twitter.com/wv8ySQ7756
The Ministry said that the occupation forces committed 9 massacres against civilians in the Gaza Strip, of which 82 martyrs and 110 injuries reached hospitals during the past 24 hours.
In Gaza City, this newborn was found on the sidewalk after her family's home was bombed by the Israeli occupation.
As Al-Shifa Hospital remains under siege, the newborn had to be transported to Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital for treatment. pic.twitter.com/t4BycIaZHH
The Israeli occupation army has issued new displacement orders to the residents of the Al-Rimal neighborhood in Gaza City. This comes as the elderly population faces the threat of death due to the worsening circumstances in the region. The situation has prompted Euro-Med to warn against Israel’s continuous attempts to empty Gaza City and the northern areas, pushing residents to forcibly move towards the south.
BREAKING | Israeli military vehicles are penetrating the tents of the displaced in the so-called "safe zone" of the Mawasi al-Qarara area, north of Khan Yunis, and civilians' are fleeing towards the west on the seashore. pic.twitter.com/cEGkOyl7pw
Under these displacement orders, all residents and displaced individuals in Al-Rimal neighborhood and nearby Al-Shifa Hospital have been instructed to immediately evacuate to the west, then proceed via Al-Rashid (Al-Bahr) Street towards the humanitarian zone in Al-Mawasi, located in the southern part of the Strip.
The consequences of this forced displacement, combined with military operations targeting civilians, the ongoing siege, and deprivation of basic necessities of life, are severe. The majority of the affected population is already grappling with the spread of famine due to the blockade, making the situation even more precarious.
Amidst these challenges, “The Hospice” has emerged as the sole refuge for the people of central and northern Gaza to obtain food. The distribution tents set up by this charitable organization are now the last hope for hundreds of families to satisfy their hunger and feed their children.
Despite the need, self-esteem wins
A Palestinian girl was collecting the remains of firewood to use in cooking for her family since they hadn't gas for cooking or money to buy firewood. Nonetheless, she refused to take aid money. pic.twitter.com/9wMYofUS2q
Recent reports on food security in the Gaza Strip have predicted an imminent famine in the northern part of the region. It is expected to occur between now and May, affecting approximately 300,000 people residing in the two northern governorates.
Internationally, the French Ambassador to the United Nations, Ambassador Nicolas de Rivière, has stressed the urgency for the UN Security Council to take further action in response to the worsening situation in Gaza. France intends to present new proposals to the Council, following their support for the American draft resolution on the Gaza war. The Ambassador called for a comprehensive respect for international law, the opening of crossing points for aid shipments, and voiced opposition to the Israeli incursion into Rafah.
Nearly five months on the start of the Israeli ground offensive in Gaza, the Palestinian resistance, by its unwavering resolve, still stands as an impenetrable barrier, despite the relentless aggression and the horrific genocide.
Started on October 27, 2023, the ground offensive was declared with the stated goals of eliminating Hamas and releasing the captives taken by the resistance group during the heroic Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7th.
Despite attempts of advance throughout long weeks of ferocious fighting, the Israeli occupation army failed to secure its presence in numerous areas across the strip, and was forced to pull out several brigades from Gaza.
Al-Manar has prepared several maps that show the course of the battlefield since the start of the ground invasion. The maps provide a comprehensive visual representation of the battlefield’s dynamics and tactical maneuvers.
Maps Talk
On the evening of 27 October, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) launched a large-scale ground assault on the towns of Beit Hanoun and Bureij in the Gaza Strip. A day later, the occupation military said the deployed units were still on the ground, marking the beginning of the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip.
During the first month of the ground offensive, the Israeli incursions initially took place at two areas: Beit Hanoun in the north and in the area near Juhr Al-Deek in the strip’s center, south of the Gaza City (Map 1 gives more details). The occupation troops then expanded their presence from the north to the west, and then to the center.
By November 18, the occupation military ended up in cutting the Gaza Strip in to two halves, the north and the south, and in encircling the Gaza City.
Later in December, the IOF attempted to stage a new incursion in the south, near Al-Qarara city, north of Khan Younis (Map 2). In this stage, the Palestinian resistance was still capable to stage attacks against the occupation forces in the north.
Two weeks later (by December 19), the occupation forces tried to expand their presence in the north, the center and the south (Map3). During this phase, heavy losses were inflicted upon the IOF who were met by fierce resistance.
By December 22, the Israeli occupation army pulled out several brigades from Gaza, including the Golani Brigade, after significant losses inflicted upon (Map 4 gives more details).
The resistance’s say was decisive later in January: The Israeli occupation can never control the northern area of the Gaza strip, it can only lay siege to the area and try to make another attempt in the south, in Al-Qarara and Khan Younis (Map 5 gives details).
During February, the Israeli occupation army tried to bolster its military presence in the north.
In March, and nearly five months on the start of the ground invasion, the Israeli occupation military withdrew from several areas in the Strip’s center and south. It ended up building a 1-kilometer deep path on the Gaza Strip’s border with the occupied territories in Gaza envelope (as shown in Map 6).
The Unbreakable Resistance
By March 19, the official Israeli death toll, announced by the occupation military since the start of the ground offensive, stood at 251, with estimations that the real figures have been far greater.
Fighting in an urban environment, the Israeli troops have been facing many challenging factors that shaped the outcome of the military engagements.
Of these challenging factors are the booby traps and shells. These local-made explosive devices have been used by the well-trained resistance fighters, frequently at point-blank range.
Furthermore, the complex tunnel system in the Gaza Strip is seen by the occupation army as a serious problem. Fighters can move between the buildings without actually going outside into the street, indicating that soldiers are susceptible to ambush.
On the other hand, the resistance fighters are seen as a formidable adversary to the occupation army as they are the native people of Palestine. They are familiar with the territory in Gaza and have been preparing for this for a long time.
Ultimately, the Israeli ambitions have crumbled against the resilience of the Palestinians, leaving their hopes of conquest dashed against the achievements secured by the unbreakable resistance.
For five months, Israel has been chasing ‘tactical wins’ to recover its image of military omnipotence lost on 7 October. But, this fruitless diversion means that Tel Aviv now faces ‘strategic defeat’ in Gaza.
In a fight like this, the center of gravity is the civilian population. And if you make them fall into the hands of the enemy, you turn tactical victory into strategic defeat.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued this warning to Israel back in December during his address at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California. Drawing on hard-earned lessons from US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Austin stressed that winning battles on the ground does not guarantee a strategic victory and may even lead to a strategic defeat – if Israel refuses to look at the bigger picture.
This is one of the main sources of Washington’s pressure on Tel Aviv, especially in light of the allies’ differing political visions for Gaza in the post-war period and the man-made humanitarian crisis Israel has imposed on the Strip. It’s a philosophy rooted in foresight, echoing Robert Greene’s wisdom from his 33 War Strategies: “Grand strategy is the art of looking beyond the present battle and calculating ahead.”
Israel’s declared war objectives
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet has outlined two primary objectives for the Gaza war: dismantling Hamas’ military infrastructure and securing the release of prisoners detained since 7 October. Netanyahu later expanded on these objectives, adding a crucial third goal: ensuring Gaza’s inability to threaten the occupation state’s security in the future. Consequently, the success of Israel’s brutal military assault on Gaza hinges on achieving these pivotal objectives.
Despite their shared goals, disparities have emerged between the American and Israeli approaches. While both advocate for neutralizing Hamas, the Biden administration advocates for a more politically driven strategy, while Netanyahu seeks an almost entirely military-centric approach.
Hamas, on the other hand, announced three main objectives of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood immediately following the events of 7 October. First, success in conducting a prisoner exchange with the enemy entity. Second, retaliation against Israeli aggression in the occupied West Bank and safeguarding Al-Aqsa Mosque from settler extremists. Third, placing the Palestinian issue back on the global stage.
Tactics vs strategy
Chinese General Sun Tzu’s timeless wisdom in his Art of War distinguishes between tactical maneuvers and strategic foresight: “Everyone can see the tactics that are used to defeat the enemy in war, but what no one can see is the strategy from which great victory arises.”
In warfare, tactical objectives focus on short-term gains – specific engagements or territorial advances. In contrast, strategic goals require long-term vision, aligning military actions with political priorities. In essence, tactics look to answer the “how,” while strategy answers the “why” in military engagement, ultimately with a political endgame.
Any state or party to a conflict can achieve tactical objectives by excelling in battlefield maneuvers, using superior technology, or having better trained and equipped forces. But winning battles – that is, achieving tactical goals – does not necessarily mean winning the war.
This discrepancy occurs because the cumulative effect of tactical victories may not align with or contribute adequately to broader strategic objectives. While tactics are essential to winning battles, they must be used as part of a strategy aimed at achieving the ultimate goals of war.
History offers several sobering reminders of the perils of prioritizing tactics over strategy. For example, in the Vietnam War, the US achieved numerous tactical victories yet failed strategically. Despite inflicting heavy losses, the broader goal of fostering a non-communist South Vietnam remained elusive. The US’s longest war, in Afghanistan against the Taliban, ended in another humiliating withdrawal, only for the Taliban to return to unprecedented political power across the country.
Esteemed Israeli historian and critic of Zionism, Ilan Pappe, believes that the failures of the genocidal war on Gaza will ultimately lead to the downfall of the Zionist entity, with the war being the most perilous chapter in the “history of a project fighting for its existence.”
It’s not the darkest moment in Palestine’s history; it would be written as the beginning of the end of the Zionist project.
What has Israel achieved so far?
Today, after a record five months of Israeli military operations in Gaza, killing well over 30,000 civilians, injuring many times that, and demolishing most of Gaza’s critical infrastructure, it becomes evident that Netanyahu’s focus on tactical wins has led to a disconnect with the broader strategic goals of the war.
The ‘progress’ made within the Gaza Strip, while significant on a tactical level, has not effectively advanced the strategic aim of eliminating Hamas, Tel Aviv’s number one stated war objective. On the contrary, US reports claim that 80 percent of the Palestinian resistance’s key military infrastructure remains intact.
This has left Netanyahu facing a critical dilemma: the pursuit of tactical gains has come at a steep cost, jeopardizing the achievement of his strategic objectives. His Gaza assault has resulted in the wholesale massacre of Palestinian civilians – predominantly women and children – widespread global censure, and thousands of dead and injured Israeli soldiers and officers.
This tragic toll has permanently tarnished Israel’s international image, undermining its fairytale narratives of ‘democracy’ and ‘victimhood’ and casting Tel Aviv instead as a leading perpetrator of state-sponsored terrorism in the world. Moreover, Israel’s actions have led to accusations of genocide and human rights violations on the international stage, most notably the recent high-profile case at the International Court of Justice.
Netanyahu and his war cabinet have fallen into a classic trap: allowing pyrrhic wins to distract them from an overarching victory.
As Edward Luttwak says in his book The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire, strategy “is not about moving armies across geography, as in the game of chess. It involves the entire struggle of hostile forces, which need not have a spatial dimension at all.”
What is happening in Khan Yunis today is ample proof that the occupation army is still far from achieving its strategic goals. Despite Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant’s boast that Hamas has been ‘dismantled’ in Khan Yunis, continuing clashes in the area between occupation forces and resistance fighters invalidate these Israeli claims.
Furthermore, Netanyahu’s defiance of the Biden administration’s marginally more moderate approach has strained relations between the two allies. Leaked communications and official statements highlight Washington’s deep concerns over Israel’s conduct.
While Israel remains a key strategic partner for the US, the discord stemming from the 5-month war in Gaza threatens to impact future bilateral relations, especially with continued extremist governance in Tel Aviv.
The Resistance understands strategy
On the flip side of the war, the Palestinian resistance maintains its strategic objective of resisting occupation and thwarting Israeli military objectives. Hamas’ willingness to engage in negotiations on its terms also demonstrates its continued resilience and strength.
Additionally, support from allied factions in the region’s Axis of Resistance has intensified pressure on both Washington and Tel Aviv, including the gradual decolonization of northern Palestine by the Lebanese Hezbollah, the ongoing Red Sea naval blockade imposed by Yemen’s Ansarallah-led forces, and routine drone strikes against US and Israeli targets by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.
With Tel Aviv struggling to reconcile its objectives with its methods, Washington has intervened to prevent its ally’s strategic defeat. The US proposal for resolution emphasizes a long-term political strategy aimed at integrating Israel further into the region via normalization agreements while sidelining Palestinian resistance through diplomatic and soft power channels.
History teaches us that tactical gains, without alignment with strategic objectives, are inadequate for long-term success. The crucial question that looms is whether US intervention will indeed succeed in preserving Israel’s strategic aims.
The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of The Cradle.
UPROOTED PALESTINIANS: SALAM ALQUDS ALAYKUM 