Israel's escalating military attacks on the Gaza Strip have killed many Palestinians, including women and children. The international world has not yet spoken.
1. Israeli Attacks Increasingly Brutal, Palestinians Ask the World to Intervene
Palestine asks the international community to intervene to stop Israel's military escalation in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that at least 13 Palestinians were killed, including four children and four women, and 20 others were injured in Israeli air strikes in the blockaded territory on Tuesday (9/5/2023) morning.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement called the Israeli attack a heinous crime and an extension of the Israeli occupation's open war against the Palestinian people. The Israeli government was also asked to take responsibility for the consequences of its attack.
"A negotiated political solution is the only way to achieve security and stability," the statement said as quoted by Anadolu.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh condemned the Israeli attack and called it state terrorism. "The aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip is organized state terrorism and an attempt to export the internal crisis suffered by the extremist government in Israel," Shtayyeh said in a statement.
At least 123 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the start of this year, according to figures released by the Palestinian government. Meanwhile, 19 Israelis were also killed in separate attacks during the same period.
2. Israeli fighter jets pound the Gaza Strip, children become victims
The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that 10 people were killed in Israel's latest air attack on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday (9/5/2023). The attack, which the Israeli military claimed targeted senior members of a prominent Palestinian fighting group, resulted in civilian deaths, including children.
"The attack left several people injured in addition to 10 dead," the Palestinian Health Ministry told Al Jazeera's Youmna El Sayed, noting the explosion was heard near a residential area at around 02:00 local time.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) did not provide casualty figures, but issued a rare statement confirming its operations in Gaza. The IDF claims to have killed top members of the Islamic Jihad militant group, including Khalil Bahtini, who heads the group's branch in northern Gaza, Jahad A'Nam, secretary of its military council, and Tarek Ezz Al-Din, who is accused of planning attacks in the occupied West Bank.
In the operation dubbed "Shield and Arrow", the IDF said it struck additional terrorist targets in Gaza. Israel also seems to expect retaliation from Palestinian fighters. The Israeli military has instructed residents living near the border with Gaza to stay close to protected areas, such as basements or bomb shelters.
The flare-up of violence came just days after Israel and Islamic Jihad members exchanged fire over the death of Khader Adnan, a senior militant commander who died after an 86-day hunger strike in Israeli custody.
Dozens of rockets were reportedly fired at Israel, triggering airstrikes by the IDF. The two sides were later said to have reached a temporary ceasefire. Although Israeli attacks on Gaza are frequent, the deaths of top Islamic Jihad leaders often trigger strong responses.
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3. Abominable, Israeli Settlers Kill 60 Palestinians Since Early 2023
Israeli settlers supported by the government of Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu are accused of killing 60 Palestinians in Israel since the beginning of 2023. This report was revealed by the Palestinian newspaper Al Relah on Sunday (7/5/2023).
The latest Palestinian victim of the Israeli settler attack was Ddiyar al Omari (21) who was killed by Jewish settlers in the village of Sandala, Marj Ibn Amer, northern Israel. The killer, according to Tel Aviv-based newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, was identified as Dennis Pukin (32) from the illegal Jewish settlement of Gan Ner, northern Israel.
According to Yedioth Ahronoth's report, Israeli police have detained the settler, who is a soldier in the elite Golani Brigade. Authorities are also said to have opened an investigation into the incident.
A video of the incident went viral on social media showing the settler getting into a physical altercation with Aal Omari. The settler then took out a gun and fired several shots at the young Palestinian as he returned to his car.
The family of the Palestinian victim said that the Al Omari family's grief is the sorrow of all of Palestine. "At home and abroad, for our Palestinian people, the young martyr Diyar Al Omari, who was shot dead by Israeli terrorist settlers in cold blood."
Hundreds of Palestinians protested and condemned the killing of Al Omari near an Israeli settlement. Protesters called the incident a cold-blooded execution, but the Israeli army cracked down on the demonstrators.
"The Israeli government has taken a strategic decision to shed our blood simply because we are Palestinian Arabs, especially after opening the door wide for its settlers to take up arms under the pretext of self-defense," stressed the Freedom Committee for Arabs in Israel in response to the incident.
4. Israel Destroys Schools, Abandoning Palestinian Students
Israeli authorities destroyed a Palestinian school in the occupied West Bank on Sunday (7/5/2023). COGAT, a branch of the Israeli military, said in a statement that the school building, located about 2 km from Bethlehem, was built illegally.
For this reason, the existence of the building was declared dangerous for the safety of anyone studying or visiting there. "And, therefore, the Israeli Court has ordered its destruction," said COGAT, as quoted by Arab News.
This action drew strong criticism from the European Union and the international community. The European Union Delegation to Palestine, on its official Twitter account, admitted that it was shocked by the school demolition. According to the delegation, the demolition of the school building will affect 60 Palestinian children.
"The demolition is illegal under international law and will only add to the suffering of the Palestinian population and further escalate an already tense environment," the delegation said.
On the other hand, COGAT stated that the building's owner had rejected several attempts by Israeli authorities to engage in dialogue regarding the status of the structure prior to demolition.
Meanwhile, students and eyewitnesses say the building has been reduced to rubble leaving no trace that a school once stood there. "We were getting ready to come to school and when we arrived we didn't find the school," said one student, Mohammed Ibrahim. “We want to go to school today! "We want to learn, if they (Israeli troops) continue to destroy, we will continue to build," he continued.
A number of eyewitnesses also said that the contents of the building had been confiscated. "They destroyed the school and they took everything," said one resident. "All the furniture, they put it in the truck and they took it away," he continued.
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Israel often cites a lack of building permits, which Palestinians and human rights groups say are almost impossible to obtain. But Israel continues to use that excuse to destroy Palestinian buildings in the West Bank, territory it captured in the 1967 Middle East war.