AFTER weeks of relentless bombardment in northern Gaza and repeated warnings to Palestinians to evacuate and move south, Israel has now intensified its offensive in the southern part of the beleaguered strip as well, BBC reported quoting Israeli army radio. According to Israel’s Chief of General Staff Herzi, the IDF’s operations in the southern part of the Palestinian enclave will be as intense as its campaign in the north.
There were expectations by the just-minded members of the international community that the temporary truce would be converted into permanent ceasefire but this could not happen mainly because of lack of interest of the key western powers that are openly siding with the aggressor. The shameless support and collusion of these powers encouraged the Jewish state to expand the scope of its aggression, killing civilians who took refuge in the south in the face of deadly bombardment in northern Gaza. Director-General of the Government Media Office in Gaza said on Sunday that more than 700 Palestinians had been killed in Gaza during the last 24 hours as Israeli forces carried out over four hundred attacks during this period. Residential buildings and Jabalia refugee camp were targeted indiscriminately and seventy percent of those martyred included women and children. Officials said that 15,523 people have been killed and over 1.5 million people have also been displaced in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war. There are consistent demands by the international community for immediate ceasefire in view of the grave humanitarian crisis in the territory but Israel is not listening to such voices as it is fully backed by the United States and Britain. Both these countries are not only providing all sorts of weapons to Israeli forces but are also engaged in espionage activities and drone attacks against Hamas. Talking to reporters at UN climate talks in Dubai, US Vice President Kamala Harris acknowledged that the scale of civilian suffering and the images and videos coming from Gaza are devastating but instead of facilitating a ceasefire, Washington has become part of the problem. What is happening in Gaza these days would remain a deep scar on the face of the civilized world for all times to come.
