Jerusalem/New York: A civil uprising following the call for a general strike by both Palestinian and Arab settlements, in Bethlehem and Ramullah witnessed heavy artillery firing from Israeli ground troops besides deployment of tear gas cannisters and rubber bullets to disperse stone pelting mobs. Clashes also broke out in Jerusalem.
As part of the general strike, all shops and establishments were shut except for bakeries and medical stores. Casualties on the Israeli side included two Thai nationals and children. Israeli military sources have sent across the message that their focus was on striking the rocket launch pads, underground tunnel networks and Hamas military installations.
Israeli troops shot down a drone approaching northern Israel from Jordan on Tuesday morning, but the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was not yet clear whether it originated in Jordan or in Syria and were looking into the matter. A Times of Israel report said that in 2018 also, an armed Iranian drone from Syria had entered Israeli airspace in a similar area and was shot down by an Israeli helicopter, prompting the IDF to launch major raids on Iranian assets in Syria.
Moreover, the IDF accused Hamas of using a school building in Gaza to fire mortars at Israel and said it had launched a strike on the Hamas terror cell.
The European Union today stepped in giving a ceasefire call to the continued escalating violence in the West Bank Gaza strip. The European Union wants to focus on cessation of violence, reaching humanitarian aid supplies besides holding conclusive peace talks.
Even as calls for a cease fire came from neighbouring Egypt and office of US president Joe Biden, the tensions between the warring sides escalated with Israeli air defense pounding the Hamas installations in Ramullah and neighboring Gaza strip.
Earlier though, at the United Nations Security Council sitting last Sunday, where the members could not mediate a cease-fire and the Council failed to agree on a joint response to the conflict, Wang Yi, State Councillor and Minister for Foreign Affairs of China, had accused the USA of preventing the Council from speaking in one voice. He had called on the United States to support the 15-member organ in easing the situation, building trust and advancing a political settlement to the conflict. The US National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, has said the US is doing “quiet diplomacy”, which has led experts to doubt the possibility of the Council achieving a unified voice on the bloodshed.
At the United Nations in New York, the Secretary-General’s spokesperson told journalists last night (IST) that they continued to receive reports of Israeli air strikes on Gaza, as well as outgoing rocket and mortar fire by Palestinian groups into Israel.
“We continue to receive reports of significant displacement of Palestinians, with over 38,000 internally displaced people seeking protection in 48 schools run by UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) across the Gaza Strip. Over 2,500 people have been made homeless due to the destruction of their homes,” Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, said.
“Forty-one education facilities — including schools, two kindergartens, an UNRWA vocational centre, and a higher education facility — have been damaged, according to our people on the ground,” he further informed.
The power supply across Gaza has been reduced to six to eight hours per day, on average, with a number of feeder lines not functioning. That, in turn, disrupts the provision of health care and other basic services, including water, hygiene and sanitation.
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator, Lynn Hastings, had appealed to the Israeli authorities and Palestinian armed groups to immediately allow the UN and its humanitarian partners to bring in fuel, food, and medical supplies and to deploy humanitarian personnel in Gaza. All parties must always adhere to international humanitarian and human rights laws, she said.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has started providing emergency assistance for more than 51,000 people in north Gaza in response to rising humanitarian needs. This is especially strong among families in that area. However, the closure of crossings into Gaza may soon cause a dearth of commodities, including food, and this is bound to push up food prices. WFP warned that prices of fresh produce are already on the rise, as farmers are unable to reach their land.
Secretary-General António Guterres said the hostilities have already caused unconscionable death, immense suffering and damage to vital infrastructure. The Secretary-General added that he was appalled by the increasingly large number of Palestinian civilian casualties, including many women and children, from Israeli strikes into Gaza. He said he also deplores Israeli fatalities from rockets launched from Gaza.
– global bihari bureau (with inputs from Venkatesh Raghavan)
