Photo credit:#𝕎𝕒𝕣 ℍ𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕫𝕠𝕟 @WarHorizon|Twitter
Jerusalem/New York: Israel continued its military pounding of Hamas targets till early today, with no signs of cessation from both sides. The war zone around the Gaza strip has been witness to intensified airstrikes from Israeli military outfit amidst strong retaliation in the form of rocket attacks launched by the Hamas militia.
The Times of Israel reported today 100 rockets fired at Tel Aviv, Beersheba while attack drones targeted southern Israel.
Even as it defends itself against the rocket attacks being launched by the Islamist terrorists of Hamas, #Israel allowed more than 100,000 Muslim worshipers to gather at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem for #EidAlFitr prayers marking the end of Ramadan. pic.twitter.com/4P869Sp6P9
— Jeff Jacoby (@Jeff_Jacoby) May 13, 2021
Since Monday, the death toll at the Palestinian end crossed 83, with 480 civilians reported wounded. On the Israeli side one soldier got killed and seven civilians including an Indian national died in the crossfire.
The Indian, identified as Kerala’s Soumya Santhosh, was working as a nurse in Israel. She got killed in a rocket attack by the Palestinians.
Israel military report claimed that 10 top cadre military leaders on the Hamas front were killed, while two tower buildings that housed artillery got razed to the ground during the course of their airstrikes.
An Israeli defense official tells reporters that the Gaza Strip will run out of fuel for its electricity generators by Sunday, partly because of Israel shutting down the Kerem Shalom Crossing, which is normally used to send fuel into Gaza, and partly because rockets fired by Hamas struck some of the power lines near the city of Rafah. The official said Gaza’s water supply was also hit by the power cuts.
Also read:
- As violence escalates in occupied Palestinian territory, OHCHR asks Israel to refrain from punitive measures in Gaza
- UN Commission on Human Rights cautions Israel against violating international law
- Uncertainty in Israel after Netanyahu’s inability to muster required support to remain in power
- “Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank has risen markedly”
The situation on the ground continues deteriorating into “the most serious escalation between Israel and Palestinian militants in years”, the United Nations Security Council has been told by UN Special Coordinator, Tor Wennesland.
There has been growing civilian casualties in both Gaza and Israel and there are reports of deaths of children in Gaza. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director of UNICEF, Henrietta Fore, said on May 12, 2021 that at least 14 children in the State of Palestine and 1 child in Israel have been reportedly killed since Monday. She noted that another 95 children in Gaza and the West Bank — including East Jerusalem — and three children in Israel were reportedlyinjured in the past five days. Fore said the situation was at a dangerous tipping point, with the level of violence and its impact on children being devastating.
Wennesland reminded the Council members that it is the civilian population on both sides that bears the burden of war and that the most vulnerable are at the ones at greatest risk of suffering. He also highlighted that these devastating cycles of violence, which destroy the lives and futures of Palestinians and Israelis alike, will only stop with a political solution to the conflict, an end to the occupation and a realization of a two‑State solution on the basis of UN resolutions, international law and existing agreements, with Jerusalem as the capital of both States.
Hamas and other militants’ indiscriminate launching of rockets and mortars from highly populated civilian neighbourhoods towards civilian population centres violates international humanitarian law. The United Nations has termed it as unacceptable and which has to stop immediately. While recognizing Israel’s legitimate security concerns, Wennesland reiterated that Israeli authorities must also abide by their responsibilities under international law and that Israeli security forces should exercise maximum restraint, calibrate their use of force to spare civilians and civilian objects in the conduct of military operations.
However, as the war strikes intensified, foreign dignitaries, including an Egyptian delegation pressed for peaceful negotiations to put a halt to the escalating violence. German carrier Lufthansa declared stoppage of flights to Tel Aviv citing security concerns.
The war situation has also catapulted the beleaguered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into centre stage, with world leaders including US President Joe Biden seeking speedy remedial action to ensure protection of territorial rights of both Israeli and Palestinian settlements.
There are fears of the current risk of escalation likely worsen the humanitarian situation, especially in Gaza, where the health sector has been struggling to provide basic services for years and has been further burdened further by COVID-19. Funding for the humanitarian response is critical. The UN Humanitarian Response Plan for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, asking for $417 million to help 1.8 million vulnerable Palestinians, is only 29 per cent funded.
Hundreds of people stood up for #Israel today in West Los Angeles #israelunderattack @IAC @StandWithUs pic.twitter.com/V9yelJSato
— Roz Rothstein (@RozRothstein) May 13, 2021
While the Western powers expressed solidarity with Israel to defend and protect its sovereign territory, the Arab states sounded caution over the continued escalation.
– Global Bihari Bureau (with inputs from Venkatesh Raghavan)
