International aid needed as Israeli attacks on Palestinians persist, leaving more lives lost

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Israeli attacks on the Palestinian people continued yesterday, causing more deaths, even as the 2.3 million people in Gaza were waiting for international aid to come through after over a week of being cut off from water, food, medicines, fuel, and electricity.

An AFP report yesterday evening said nine Palestinians, including a 16-year-old boy, were killed in the northern West Bank by Israeli troops at Nur Shams refugee camp. Meanwhile, 18 Palestinians were killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes on Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza strip, the Hamas-run interior ministry said yesterday.

The Israeli army has claimed that an exchange of fire occurred, which included explosives being thrown at their security forces. Palestinian Red Crescent said its medics treated 25 people in Nur Shams, a majority of which was for gunshot wounds, and that ambulances with the injured were being detained by Israeli forces, an AFP report stated.

In two separate incidents, a 17-year-old was shot dead by Israeli forces in Dheisheh refugee camp near Bethlehem and a 32-year-old in Budrus to the west of Ramallah, Palestinian health ministry said. Gaza’s health ministry said yesterday that the death toll from the Israeli air strikes in the Palestinian exclave since last week has risen to 3,785, which includes 1,524 children and around 1,000 women, and that 12,493 persons were injured.

The World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday evening demanded that fuel should also be allowed into Gaza along with other aid so as to allow hospital generators, ambulances, and desalination plants to function.

Condemnation

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II condemned the collective punishment of Palestinians in Gaza as they met in Cairo to discuss means to stop the Israeli aggression.

China said it is deeply disappointed by the United States’ decision to veto a UN Security Council resolution for a humanitarian pause in the Israel-Hamas conflict. In a statement, foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning called on the Security Council to play its role in reaching a ceasefire and stopping the war.

Russia announced that it has sent 27 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Gaza through Egypt on a special plane. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is traveling to Israel and other countries in the region in an effort to de-escalate the conflict.

The US Fifth Fleet, which operates in the Arabian Gulf, declared on Thursday the arrival of a naval destroyer named USS Carney, which is equipped with guided missiles. With the possibility of international aid reaching Gaza nearing, the Kingdom of Bahrain has opened up a national campaign to raise funds for Gaza aid to the public through the Royal Humanitarian Foundation (RHF).