Israel unleashes fresh strikes across Gaza
- 20 May 2021
Gulf Today Report
Israel unleashed a wave of airstrikes across the Gaza Strip early on Thursday, killing at least one Palestinian and wounding several others. The latest strikes came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back against US pressure to wind down the offensive against Gaza's Hamas rulers, who have fired thousands of rockets at Israel.
Israel is at war with Hamas, Jewish-Arab mob violence has erupted inside Israel, and the West Bank is experiencing its deadliest unrest in years. Yet this may all bolster Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to The Associated Press.
At least 227 Palestinians have been killed, including 64 children and 38 women, with 1,620 people wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not break the numbers down into fighters and civilians. Hamas and other groups say at least 20 of their fighters have been killed, while Israel says the number is at least 130. Some 58,000 Palestinians have fled their homes.
“If we had a government, security considerations would not be mixed with political considerations,” opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote on Facebook. "No one would ask themselves why the fire always breaks out just when it’s most convenient for the prime minister.”
Lapid appeared to be poised to make history early last week, saying he was wrapping up the final details of arranging a government that would end Netanyahu’s 12-year rule.
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"In a few days, we should be able to swear in a new Israeli government that is functional and that is based on broad agreements and the common good,” he declared, hours before the war erupted.
Meanwhile, a senior Hamas official predicted a ceasefire within days in the Israel-Gaza conflict, after US President Joe Biden urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seek a "de-escalation" in the fighting.
Rocket fire into Israel died down overnight, a lull that stretched into Thursday morning. Israel was launching new air strikes in Gaza after daybreak, but, Israeli media said, at a slower pace than in past days.
Israeli soldiers fire tear gas at Palestinian demonstrators during an anti-Israel protest in occupied Jerusalem. AFP
Explosions shook Gaza City and orange flares lit up the night sky, with airstrikes also reported in the central town of Deir Al Balah and the southern town of Khan Younis. As the sun rose, residents surveyed the rubble from at least five family homes destroyed in Khan Younis. There were also heavy airstrikes on al-Saftawi Street, a commercial thoroughfare in Gaza City.
The Israeli military said it struck at least four homes of Hamas commanders, targeting "military infrastructure,” as well as a weapons storage unit at the home of a Hamas fighter in Gaza City.
An Israeli airstrike smashed into the Khawaldi family’s two-story house in Khan Younis, destroying it. The 11 residents, who were sleeping in a separate area out of fear, were all wounded and hospitalized, said Shaker Al Khozondar, a neighbour.
Shrapnel hit his family home next door, killing Hoda Al Khozondar, his aunt, and wounding her daughter and two cousins, he said. Weam Fares, a spokesman for a nearby hospital, confirmed her death and said at least 10 people were wounded in strikes overnight.
An Egyptian security source said the sides had agreed in principle to a ceasefire after help from mediators but details were still being negotiated in secret.
"I think that the ongoing efforts regarding the ceasefire will succeed," the Hamas political official, Moussa Abu Marzouk, told Lebanon's al-Mayadeen TV. "I expect a ceasefire to be reached within a day or two, and the ceasefire will be on the basis of mutual agreement."
Netanyahu has pushed back against calls from the Biden administration to wrap up the operation that has left hundreds dead. It marks the first public rift between the two close allies since the fighting began last week and could complicate international efforts to reach a cease-fire. His pushback also poses a difficult early test of the US-Israel relationship.
After visiting military headquarters, Netanyahu said Wednesday he appreciated "the support of the American president,” but that Israel would push ahead to return "calm and security” to its citizens. He said he was "determined to continue this operation until its aim is met.”
US President Joe Biden speaks during an event. File photo
US President Joe Biden had earlier told Netanyahu that he expected "a significant de-escalation today on the path to a cease-fire,” the White House said.
Biden had previously avoided pressing Israel more directly and publicly for a cease-fire with Gaza’s Hamas rulers. But pressure has been building for Biden to intervene more forcefully as other diplomatic efforts gather strength.
Twelve people in Israel, including a 5-year-old boy, a 16-year-old girl and a soldier, have been killed.
Since the fighting began, Gaza’s infrastructure, already weakened by a 14-year blockade, has rapidly deteriorated. Medical supplies, water and fuel for electricity are running low in the territory, on which Israel and Egypt imposed the blockade after Hamas seized power in 2007.
Israeli attacks have damaged at least 18 hospitals and clinics and destroyed one health facility, the World Health Organization said. Nearly half of all essential drugs have run out.
The fighting, the worst since a 2014 war between Israel and Hamas, has ignited protests around the world.