Israel kills over 100 Palestinians in Gaza as Trump insists truce holds

Despite the deaths of more than 100 Palestinians, including 46 children, Israeli forces continue to enforce the Washington-brokered ceasefire in Gaza.

According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, at least 104 Palestinians were killed and 253 others were hurt in the roughly 12 hours that followed Tuesday through Wednesday, according to the country’s ministry of health.

The Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza demanded an “immediate and comprehensive ceasefire” across the Strip, adding that “these documented crimes add to the long list of ongoing violations against our people.

According to medical sources, one of the most recent attacks happened in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, which was a tent that was being occupied by displaced people. The enclave’s northern and southern regions were targeted by other attacks.

On Wednesday, the US president defended Israel’s actions, citing rumors that an Israeli soldier, 37, had been killed in southern Gaza. The Israeli military’s brief statement did not specify the soldier’s death, but stated that his family had been informed before the information was made public.

As he traveled from Japan to South Korea, Trump claimed that he had heard an Israeli soldier had been killed by sniper fire and that, as I understand it, they had evacuated the soldier. The Israelites responded by saying, “They should respond. They should react when that occurs, he continued, calling Israel’s attacks “retribution” for the soldier’s death.

Hamas has denied being responsible for the alleged attack on Israeli forces in Rafah, southern Gaza, and stated in a statement that it is still committed to the ceasefire agreement.

The US president stated that “nothing will compromise” the ceasefire.

Hamas is only a small portion of the Middle East’s peace, he said, and they must act accordingly.

“If they [Hamas] are good, they will be happy, and if they are not good, they will be terminated, their lives will be ended,” he said.

After carrying out numerous strikes on “terror targets,” including “30 terrorists holding command positions,” the Israeli military announced in a statement on Wednesday that it had reinstated the Gaza ceasefire. There was no proof to support these assertions.

“Indefinite, protracted occupation”

Hani Mahmoud, a journalist for Al Jazeera from Gaza City, claimed that Palestinians were in a “panic” as a result of the new attacks.

“At this morning, we can see that a lull in hope of calm has faded into despair.” He stated on Wednesday that the skies are brimming with reconnaissance aircraft, drones, and fighter jets.

“And the fear is now that what started last night will continue for days to come,” he added.

Save the Children described reports of children being killed with their families as “excruciating.”

According to Ahmad Alhendawi, the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe region director for Save the Children, “this cannot become the new normal under a ceasefire.” Children’s safety, comfort, and recovery must be assured by a lasting ceasefire, not just their continued suffering. It must be upheld and fully respected.

“We’re pleading: stop right away,” we said. Protect the ceasefire, safeguard the children, and bring about the real peace that Gaza’s residents have been seeking, Alhendawi added.

Israel “never really fulfilled any of its commitments” under the agreement, including reversing its commitments to the agreed line in Gaza or allowing the agreed-upon amount of aid to enter Gaza, according to Mouin Rabbani, a nonresident fellow at the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies.

Israel is allegedly attempting to deliberately undermine a ceasefire agreement that the US unintentionally dragged into. He claimed that because Israel does not appear to be able to unilaterally renounce the ceasefire, “we are seeing a gradual intensification of the process of erosion.”

The key question is now, he said, “how will the United States… react?”

The ceasefire has been fragile “from day one,” according to Rob Geist Pinfold, a lecturer in international security at King’s College London, because both Israel and Hamas reached a deal under significant pressure from the US.

He claimed that because Israel continues to control roughly 50% of the Strip, “it’s understandable why many Palestinians in Gaza might not perceive this as a ceasefire or a peace plan, but rather as an indefinite, protracted occupation with no end in sight.”

According to Pinfold, there is a “game of chicken” between Hamas and Israel, where both sides are attempting to “test each other’s boundaries.”

Source: Aljazeera