Israel launched new airstrikes and sent more troops into Gaza, dashing brief hopes among many residents of the territory that Hamas leader Yahya Shinwar might be killed. End destructive conflict.
Sinwar, 62, died on Thursday in a building in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, after an exchange of fire with Israeli patrols in tank fire.
Several airstrikes were reported overnight and on Friday morning. According to Palestinian health officials, at least 62 deaths have been reported in Gaza since Thursday.
The most intense recent clashes occurred in Jabalia, the largest of Gaza's eight historic refugee camps and the site of intense fighting in recent weeks between Israeli forces and Hamas militants. Tens of thousands of civilians are believed to be trapped in Jabaliya. Conditions there are deteriorating.
Israeli military officials said Israel had sent reinforcements to bolster its operation in Jabaliya, raising fears of an escalation of violence there.
“We always wonder when [Sinwar was killed] The war will end and our lives will return to normal,” said Jema Abo Mendi, a 21-year-old Gaza resident. “But, unfortunately, the reality on the ground is the opposite. The war has not stopped, the killings continue unabated.”
Mustafa al-Zaim, a 47-year-old resident of the Rimal neighborhood of western Gaza City, said Israel had achieved one of its main war goals and should stop the fighting. “If the assassination of Sinwar was one of the objectives of this war, today they have killed Yahya Sinwar,” Zaeem said. “Enough of death, enough of hunger, enough of the siege. Enough of thirst and hunger, enough of flesh and blood.”
Some in Gaza said they were inspired by images released by the Israeli military of Shinwar's final moments, which showed the veteran leader covered in dust, wounded and with his head covered in a Palestinian keffi. In the footage, Sinwar is seen throwing a stick at a drone that has been following him through the half-destroyed apartment.
Adel Rajab, 60, said he did not support the Hamas attacks that sparked the conflict in October last year, believing Palestinians were not prepared for a full-scale war with Israel, but felt Sinwar's death was heroic. . “He died fighting with guns and grenades while wearing a military uniform, and he fought with a stick when he was wounded and bleeding. This is how heroes die.
A September poll found that the attack, which killed 1,200 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, and led to the kidnapping of 250, was the wrong decision, and many Palestinians questioned Sinwar's willingness to launch a war. It has caused them a lot of suffering.
More than 42,500 people have been killed since the Israeli offensive began, Palestinian officials said Friday. The majority are civilians. Nearly 100,000 people were injured.
Haniyeh Ashour, 48, said the recent heavy shelling forced his family to leave temporary shelter in a hospital. “These two weeks have been one of the worst we have experienced in this war. We have seen death many times. My children and I do not know how to sleep, if there is an explosion nearby, we are afraid and we are waiting for that missile that will send our souls to my children and my husband,” Ashur said. and three sons were killed earlier in the conflict.
Much of northern Gaza remains under siege by Israeli forces, and road closures prevent supplies to the area, despite US warnings that failure to end the blockade could cut off arms supplies to Israel.
“Although we hear that aid is going to increase, people in Gaza do not feel any difference,” the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said. Filipe Laszarini, director of the agency, wrote in X. “They are constantly trapped, hungry and sick due to the intense bombing.”
Israel said it sent around 30 trucks of aid to northern Gaza on Friday, including food, water, medical supplies and shelter equipment. “We are fighting Hamas, we are not fighting the people of Gaza,” military spokesman Nadav Shoshani told reporters in an online briefing.
On Friday, health officials called for the immediate delivery of fuel, medical supplies and food to three northern Gaza hospitals overwhelmed by the sick and injured. “We are facing shortages of medical equipment, medicines and power outages. We use our mobile phones or simply use a battery to power a lamp and have to operate almost in the dark. “We can't perform cesarean sections because there is no oxygen or electricity,” said obstetrician Ahmed Al-Masri, 68.
Israel has issued evacuation orders to almost all residents of northern Gaza, but many are unable or unwilling to comply.
“We know that there is no safe place in the north and in the south and I am afraid that if we go south they will occupy our lands and houses and will not be able to return to the north. That's what they're trying to do, so we're still waiting,” Masri said. “We're just waiting for the war to end.”
As winter approaches, there are dire fears that 3,45,000 people in the region face “catastrophic” levels, according to a recent UN survey.
“Since we have no source of income or even work, we only receive contaminated water and canned food from aid agencies. We cannot afford to buy food because everything has gone up in price,” Ashoor said. “But the biggest problem we face is finding security. Wherever we go there is no security”
With additional information from Agence France-Presse and Reuters
