Israeli Military Targets Residential Areas in Gaza, Civilian Casualties Soar
Israeli forces intensify their assault on Gaza, leaving hundreds dead and wounded, while 60,000 children face severe malnutrition and health risks.
The Israeli occupation forces continue their genocidal war, targeting residential areas and displacement camps in the Gaza Strip, resulting in numerous deaths and injuries.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 60,000 children in the Strip are at risk of severe health complications due to malnutrition.
Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz has threatened to escalate the aggression unless Israeli prisoners are released. In response, the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas has called on Arab and Islamic countries to urgently pressure Israel to end its aggression and lift the siege.
Five Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit a house and a tent housing displaced persons in the northern Al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, early Thursday morning.
Additionally, a Palestinian was killed by Israeli shelling of a tent sheltering displaced persons northwest of Al-Zahraa in the central Gaza Strip.
Quadcopter drones also targeted civilian homes in Block C and near the Al-Qassam Mosque in the Nuseirat camp, while heavy artillery continued to bombard Shujaiya and Zeitoun neighborhoods in Gaza City.
On Wednesday, 45 Palestinians were reported killed, including 35 from a bombing of a house on Baghdad Street in the Shejaiya neighborhood.
The Israeli military operation is expanding, with continued bombardment in Rafah, southern Gaza, and construction of a new axis referred to as the Morag axis.
The occupation forces are also demolishing buildings, planting explosives in residential areas, and firing on border zones in Rafah.
Humanitarian Disaster
In terms of humanitarian impact, Gaza’s Ministry of Health confirmed that 60,000 children are at risk of severe health issues from malnutrition. The blockade on the Strip has worsened this situation, restricting essential food and medicine, while the lack of clean water and banned vaccines, such as for polio, exacerbate the crisis.
Dr. Munir al-Barash, Director General of the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, reported that most health facilities in the Strip have been destroyed, and hundreds of medical personnel have been killed.
He urged immediate international intervention to stop the massacres, open the crossings for medical aid, and allow essential supplies like baby formula into Gaza.
Marwan al-Hams, director of field hospitals, echoed these calls, stressing the dire need for food, water, and medicine to treat diseases with no available cure.
Hamas condemned the ongoing genocide, particularly the massacre in Shejaiya, and vowed that Israel’s brutal crimes would not go unpunished.
The movement criticized the lack of significant action from Arab and Islamic countries, demanding stronger measures, including the severing of relations with Israel and the closure of Israeli embassies in those countries.
Ongoing Genocide
The renewed Israeli violence on March 18 has broken a ceasefire that began on January 19. The latest military actions have killed hundreds of Palestinians and injured many more, primarily civilians, including women and children.
While the violations have been condemned by numerous countries and human rights groups, the US has continued its support for Israel, asserting that the military campaign was carried out with prior knowledge and approval from Washington.
Since October 2023, Israel has killed over 50,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and left Gaza in ruins.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in the besieged enclave.
In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
