Medical reports suggest that the Israeli military’s enhanced air and ground operations in Gaza City have caused a large jump in deaths, with at least 91 Palestinians dying in one day. The relentless attacks, which include attacks on homes, shelters, and even a truck full of civilians, have drawn criticism and made people around the world more worried about the humanitarian calamity.
Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya is the head of al-Shifa, Gaza’s biggest hospital. He lost his brother, sister-in-law, and their kids in the attack. Later, the Israeli army reported that the doctor’s brother was a Hamas sniper. Aid groups and officials have severely criticized the strike on the family’s home. Another attack hit a truck in the Nasr neighborhood of Gaza City, killing at least four people who were trying to get away from the bombings. Rescue personnel and medics on the ground have indicated that it is too dangerous for them to reach many of the injured and trapped people.
People in whole neighborhoods have died in the ongoing attack, which is said to involve “robots with explosives.” The Palestinian Civil Defense said that the attack has made more than 450,000 people leave Gaza City on their own. A lot of displaced Palestinians are living in tents that they made themselves and don’t have access to basic requirements like water and electricity. Aid groups including Doctors Without Borders have said that the conditions in southern al-Mawasi, where civilians have been transported, are “extremely harsh.”
At the same time, Hamas’s military branch, the Qassam Brigades, has stepped up the psychological warfare by assigning each of the 48 remaining captives a name after a symbol of an Israeli soldier who has been missing for a long time and sending out a “farewell photo” of them. The group stated that the long Israeli attack could endanger the lives of the inmates and blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for keeping the fight going to protect his own political career.
A lot of people are unhappy with how things are going in Israel. Thousands of people marched in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem on Saturday, demanding a halt to the fighting right now and a deal from the government to liberate the captives. The families of the people who are being held have been getting louder and louder in their protests. They are worried that the military operation could kill their loved ones. Members of Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition, on the other side, have said that these rallies are “counterproductive” and help Israel’s enemies. This shows that there is a basic political divide that is not getting any better.