Over to the unrest in Israel and Gaza. Israeli airstrikes continued overnight as the Israeli military again pounded Gaza, levelling many apartment buildings and rocket launch sites in Gaza, and prompting a furious reaction from Hamas, as Hamas militants renewed cross-border rocket attacks today. Despite growing calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli military vowed it will continue the attacks on the Gaza Strip.
A barrage of rockets was fired from Israel, reducing apartment buildings to rubble. In the wake of the overnight airstrikes, children are traumatised because of Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip. A 7-year-old girl who was pulled from the rubble of an apartment building two days ago can hardly speak or eat as a result of the trauma – For one thing, she was a victim of rocket and artillery shrapnel. As were her siblings and mother who had died around her before they were rescued. She is expected to spend some more time in hospital to recuperate from the serious injuries.
In a 25-minute attack overnight, Israel bombarded what its military said were a vast network of tunnels in the southern Gaza Strip used by Hamas to take revenge on Israel.
In Gaza, nearly 450 buildings in the densely-populated enclave have either been destroyed or severely damaged. Among them are 6 hospitals and 9 primary healthcare centres.
According to the U.N. humanitarian agency, more than 52,000 Palestinians have been displaced due to damages to their apartments.
Piles of rubble were seen across the coastal enclave, and concerns over the living conditions in Gaza are growing.
A litany of reports that some children were among the victims of rocket or artillery shrapnel: At least 63 children are among the 217 Palestinians who have been killed in Gaza since the latest conflict between Israel and Hamas began on May 10 last week. And according to the Israeli military, 12 people have been killed by Hamas rockets in Israel, all but one of them civilians, including a 5-year-old boy.
Now, the ongoing bloodshed in the Gaza Strip has Arab citizens expressing anger at Israel, insinuating the conflict will hamper efforts to seek a rapprochement between some countries in the Middle East and Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip “will continue for as long as it takes to restore calm” for all its citizens.
The Biden administration was privately encouraging Israel to wind down its bombardment of Gaza, in an effort to broker a ceasefire in the region.
Meanwhile, Egypt and U.N. mediators have also stepped up diplomatic efforts, and the U.N. General Assembly will discuss the violence on the coming Thursday.
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