Israeli attacks in Gaza leave 260 Palestinians dead, hospitals under siege

Gaza faces unprecedented humanitarian crisis as civilians bear the brunt of the conflict

Muslim Network TV Desk

GAZA, Palestine – In the past 24 hours, the Israeli military has unleashed a devastating wave of attacks in Gaza, resulting in the deaths of over 260 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

The situation has escalated to a humanitarian crisis, with schools, hospitals, and civilian infrastructure coming under fire.

Israeli forces struck a school sheltering internally displaced people, causing the deaths of at least 50 individuals.

Witnesses reported that people fleeing on the designated “safe corridor” were also targeted, further adding to the casualties.

The largest medical complex in Gaza, Al-Shifah Hospital, was not spared from the violence, as Israeli forces shelled its courtyard, hitting the outpatient clinic and maternity ward, resulting in numerous casualties.

Additionally, Israeli tanks encircled three other hospitals, trapping thousands of patients and displaced people inside.

A fifth hospital in the city was also targeted by Israeli snipers, causing more casualties, including children.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) has confirmed that over 100 of its staff members have lost their lives during the relentless Israeli bombardment in Gaza. Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner general of UNRWA, expressed his devastation over this tragic loss of lives.

The relentless Israeli bombardment has damaged more than 50 percent of housing units across Gaza, according to officials.

In a post on Telegram, the Israeli army added that “6,000 weapons”, including anti-tank missiles, rockets and ammunition, had been located in Gaza.

“In recent days, combined Israeli forces have continued to strike numerous terror targets in the Gaza Strip, including operational command centres, terror and rocket infrastructure, weapons and logistics depots, launch posts, terror tunnels, [and] numerous Hamas terrorists,” it said.

Earlier, the Gaza government’s media office said about 29,000 tonnes of explosives had been dropped on Gaza since the start of the war.

It called the destruction “unprecedented”, adding that more than 50 percent of Gaza’s housing units had been damaged in the bombardment.

Israeli media reported that during a recent war cabinet meeting, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar implored to ensure that the government transfers the tax revenues that belong to the Palestinian Authority to Ramallah.

He explained that the Palestine Authority’s collapse could lead to a violent intifada breaking out in the West Bank, the Maariv news site reports.

Ultimately, the cabinet voted to transfer some of the tax revenues to the PA but deducted roughly $26 million in funds that Ramallah uses to pay for services in the Gaza Strip — a cut that was still opposed by the security establishment and infuriated the Biden administration, according to a US official.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that the Israeli forces will remain in control of Gaza after the war in comments likely to raise eyebrows in the international community, hours after he told Fox News that Israel does not want to re-occupy or govern the Strip.

Earlier this week, Netanyahu told ABC News that Israel will have “overall security responsibility” over the Gaza Strip “for an indefinite period” after the war against Hamas ends.

The latest comments are made in a meeting with the mayors of Gaza border towns — the first group meeting that Netanyahu has held with them since the war, something he came under fire for earlier this week when he chose to first meet with a group of settlement mayors.

US officials have raised the idea in recent weeks that an international force of sorts, possibly with troops from neighboring Arab allies would manage security in the Gaza Strip for an interim period until it can be returned to a functioning Palestinian government.

However, in his comments to the southern mayors, Netanyahu appears to reject the idea outright.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani meet to review “intensive efforts” toward a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, Cairo says.

Both Egypt and Qatar have played a major role in the regional and international response to the war, triggered by Hamas’s October 7 onslaught in southern Israel.

In Cairo, Sissi and Sheikh Tamim “discussed the Israeli military escalation in the Gaza Strip, and the subsequent regional challenges that push the region in dangerous and uncalculated directions,” the Egyptian presidency says in a statement.

“The two leaders discussed the best ways to protect innocent civilians in Gaza and to stop the bloodshed,” it adds.

“They reviewed the intensive efforts aimed at achieving a ceasefire and sustaining the delivery of humanitarian aid in quantities that meet the needs of the Palestinian people in Gaza.”

The high-level meeting in Cairo comes ahead of Saturday’s summits in Saudi Arabia where Arab and Muslim leaders are expected to press for an end to more than a month of fighting.

As the conflict continues, the death toll in Gaza has now exceeded 11,000 people since October 7, with a heartbreaking count of 4,506 children, 3,027 women, and 678 elderly individuals among the victims.

Additionally, over 27,490 people have been wounded, and around 2,700 individuals are still missing, presumed dead and buried under rubble.

Meanwhile, in the West Bank, Israeli forces and settlers have killed at least 174 Palestinians during the same period, marking a significant increase in the monthly death toll in the occupied territory.