GAZA STRIP: Israeli forces intensified strikes across central Gaza killing at least 64 people and leaving more than a hundred others wounded in a single day, following the Inter­national Court of Justice ruling declaring the Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory ‘illegal’.

Many victims are still under rubble and on roads, with civil defence crews not able to reach them, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which says at least 38,983 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and 89,727 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 2023.

In recent days, Israeli strikes have been focused on the Al-Nuseirat refugee camp.

“We hear the sounds of explosions in Nuseirat and we see the smoke rising from here in Deir Al-Balah, the last refuge you can say and we are being terrorised by the feeling tanks may roll here,” said Tamer Aburakan, a resident of Gaza City, now displaced in the central area of Deir Al-Balah.

At least 105 Palestinians injured, many still under rubble, on roads

“Where should we go next? The entire Gaza Strip is under fire and we are being hunted like deer in a forest. When is enough? When the war will ever end?” he said via a chat app.

Israeli forces continued attacking the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Sunday, striking areas in the centre of the coastal enclave where thousands of Palestinians displaced from their homes have been seeking shelter.

Residents in Rafah, near the border with Egypt, said Israeli tanks advanced in the centre and western areas. The Israeli military said its soldiers had killed those moving towards them, and destroyed “ammunition, tunnel shafts” and infrastructure in Tel al-Sultan, in the eastern part of the city.

A ceasefire effort led by Qatar and Egypt and backed by the United States has so far failed because of disagreements between Israel and Hamas, who blame each other for the impasse.

Tensions are high in the region, with concerns remaining over a possible spillover of war, as the Israeli forces have carried out several attacks inside Lebanon, Yemen and Syria.

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2024