Israeli Forces Abduct Medics as UN Official Slams Arab Inaction and Israeli Impunity
As airstrikes intensify and displacement worsens, Palestinians face escalating violence with no ceasefire in sight.
Watan-Death is no longer the only threat facing the residents of the Gaza Strip. With Israel resuming its war of extermination and committing bloody massacres, the anticipation of death or injury and the constant sounds of missiles have become just as harrowing for Palestinians, who are once again suffering from displacement, killing, and destruction.
Fearing airstrikes that intensify by the day, residents have stopped going to mosques for evening and Taraweeh prayers. Movement at night—especially after the Maghrib call to prayer—is now limited only to those with urgent needs.
Mohammad Barghouth, a resident of Khan Younis, said the level of fear and terror from airstrikes, and the inability to predict what might happen, makes him—like the rest of the population—live in constant fear around the clock.
Humanitarian Collapse and Rising Death Toll in Gaza
The family of young Haya Murtaja said she couldn’t bear the first wave of airstrikes that marked Israel’s renewed assault on Gaza. Her heart stopped from the intensity of the bombing around her home, and she was taken into intensive care.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip has reached critical levels, according to UN and international relief organizations, with no serious political initiatives underway to push the Netanyahu government to respect a ceasefire agreement.
Al Jazeera reported last night, citing medical sources, that 37 Palestinians were killed between dawn Tuesday and the time of reporting. The Gaza Ministry of Health announced that within the past 24 hours, 62 people had been killed and 296 injured, all received by local hospitals.
Videos circulating on social media showed ongoing displacement of residents from northern Gaza with no clear destination, following threats from the Israeli military. Meanwhile, a new war crime was committed as Israeli forces targeted medical and emergency crews, abducting 15 members of ambulance and civil defense teams in Rafah, southern Gaza.
Intensifying Strikes Push Gaza to the Brink as Civilians and Medics Suffer
Agence France-Presse also reported that hundreds of Palestinians protested Tuesday night in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, demanding an end to the war.
Israeli media has reported that there are currently no new proposals or negotiations regarding Gaza, and that the Israeli army is preparing for the next phase of its operation in the Palestinian territory.
Channel 12 quoted Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi as saying the army would continue fighting with force to achieve “all objectives of the war.”
Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, told Al Jazeera that Israel is enjoying impunity and that Arab states have done nothing. She said Arab countries are under American pressure and unable to act, adding: “The Arab world must move to stop the genocide in Gaza.”
In Israel, internal divisions have deepened between the government and the opposition, which is protesting the dismissal of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar. The Israeli Supreme Court rejected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request to lift the freeze on his government’s decision to fire Bar.
This internal conflict has been further exacerbated by the far-right government’s decision to resume the war.
Herzog Laments Waning Focus on Hostages as Israel Expands War to West Bank
Israeli President Isaac Herzog expressed shock on Tuesday that the issue of hostages held in Gaza is no longer considered a top priority in Israel.
Alongside its war on Palestinians in Gaza, Israel is also waging war in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.
Two Palestinians were killed in the West Bank on Tuesday by Israeli forces. One of them—a former prisoner—was assassinated by an undercover Israeli unit during a gunfight in the city of Qalqilya. Another Palestinian man, 41 years old, was shot and killed by Israeli forces Tuesday evening near the town of al-Eizariya, east of Jerusalem.
Commenting on what is happening in Gaza and the West Bank, Jeff Halper, Israeli anthropologist and head of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, told Anadolu Agency that Tel Aviv, which continues its genocide in Gaza, is now exporting it to the West Bank. He stressed that what is happening goes beyond security calculations and is about the far-right government staying in power at any cost.
