On the second anniversary of the war in Gaza and amid the ongoing negotiations in Sinai, the shelling of the Palestinian people by the Israeli occupation forces continues. Medical sources in hospitals in the Gaza Strip reported at noon Tuesday that ten Palestinians have been killed by gunfire and shelling since the morning hours in various areas throughout the Strip.
Among the dead is a civilian who was standing in line to receive humanitarian aid. According to reports, the bodies of six of the dead were transferred to Al-Shifa Hospital, two to Nasser Hospital, one to Al-Amal Hospital, and another to Al-Aqsa Hospital. It was also reported that three civilians were killed following the collapse of a cliff onto tents of displaced people on the beach in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis.
An Israeli army spokesman said that the occupation forces carried out tank fire today at three different locations around Gaza City and in the Khan Yunis area. According to a military source, the purpose of the fire was to “remove suspicious figures” and prevent attempts by displaced people to return to their homes in Gaza City. It was also reported that alarms were activated on the Enrichment Road due to one launch that crossed into Israel from the northern Gaza Strip and apparently fell in the area.
Due to the siege of Gaza City, UNRWA is facing severe disruptions to its activities due to bombings and evacuation orders and the large-scale displacement of staff and their families. The vast majority of shelter, water, sanitation, and health facilities operated by UNRWA in Gaza City have been evacuated due to being damaged or inaccessible, and there is a growing water shortage.
Despite the difficulties, almost 2,000 of UNRWA’s 12,000 staff continue struggling to provide critical services in the city.
On Monday, the Gaza Health Ministry reported that 19 people were killed in the past 24 hours. According to the ministry, 96 more people were injured. This brings the number of deaths in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war of annihilation to 67,160.
According to data published by the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv last Monday, 1,152 security forces personnel have been killed since Oct. 7, 2023, almost half of whom, 42% of all deaths, were under the age of 21. According to the ministry, more than 6,500 family members have been added to the circle of bereavement—including 351 widows and 885 orphans.
In addition, in the Hamas massacre on Oct. 7, 2023, about 1,163 Israelis and foreigners were murdered and killed, most of them civilians, and about 1,940 were injured, including about 360 in critical or serious condition.
To mark two years since the outbreak of the war, hundreds of people demonstrated Tuesday morning in front of the right-wing government’s ministerial buildings and offices of Knesset members across the country. The protests began at 6:29 a.m. with the sounding of sirens in front of the home of Defense Minister Yisrael Katz.
Mothers from the “Mothers on the Front” movement, led by attorney Ayelet Hashachar Saidoff, demonstrated by chanting: “We will not forget and we will not forgive—we have not forgotten the neglect.” One demonstrator said: “Enough of the war! Our sons are worn out and tired. The missions they are given in Gaza are risking their lives in vain. It is time to end the eternal war.”
Boaz Zalmanovich, whose father Aryeh’s body is being held in the Gaza Strip, spoke in front of the home of MK Ariel Kellner of Netanyahu’s Likud Party in Haifa. “I hope you are observing the holiday commandments,” he said, “you may be able to see stars in the sky, but the 48 kidnapped people cannot.”
Additional protests were held in front of the homes of ministers Yariv Levin in Modiin; Gila Gamliel in Tel Aviv; Miri Regev and Gideon Saar in Ness Ziona; Vaidit Silman in Rehovot and MK Yuli Edelstein in Herzliya Pituach.
The organizers noted that the protest reached the homes of 26 elected officials calling for the return of the kidnapped, and said: “Two years since the greatest massacre in Israel’s history, two years of lawlessness. We will not leave the Knesset members until the last of the kidnapped is returned. We are here to remind them that the black day in Israel’s history occurred on their watch, a stain that will accompany each and every one of them until the end of their lives.”
Zo Haderekh
CONTRIBUTOR
