Ceasefire deal ends Israeli bombing in Gaza that left 44 dead
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The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) in South Africa has strongly condemned Israel's "wanton attack on Gaza".
"Our condolences go out to the families of all those murdered by the cowardly occupation forces, especially the family of five-year-old Alaa Abdullah Riyaad Qaddoum. Alaa's father and six-year-old brother were also injured in the attack," said the PSC statement sent to Middle East Eye.
PSC is a grassroots organisation that aims to highlight Israel's flouting of international law, continued military occupation of Palestine and systematic discrimination against Palestinians.
The statement went on to say that the current Israeli campaign is about shoring up political support amongst politicians ahead of elections.
"Palestinian lives, including the lives of children, are expendable in Israeli electioneering. [Prime Minister Yair] Lapid is unconcerned that his onslaught on a largely refugee population living in Gaza - an open-air prison - is designed to provoke more violence," the PSC statement added.
The Israeli military has launched operations against besieged Gaza in what some have called a political ploy by the caretaker government. Why did the attack happen and how did we get here?
Read Middle East Eye's explainer on the latest Israeli onslaught on Gaza here.
For MEE’s columnist Ameer Makhoul, the bombing campaign is part of a strategy aimed at creating friction among Palestinians and weakening Iran's allies. Read his column here.
Israel's allies have stayed silent about the killings of civilians or supported its right to "defend itself," while others spoke out against the "aggression".
Read more here.
Israel has destroyed a residential building in western Gaza, displacing at least eight families, eyewitnesses told Middle East Eye's Mohammed el-Hajjar.
"We've never seen this level of brutality. We are all civilians here. There are no members of any armed group," Khamees Shammalk, 75, told MEE.
"They only gave us 15 minutes to evacuate, and we had to rush ourselves out, we couldn't take any of our belongings out," he said.
An eyewitness recalls the moment that a residential building in Gaza was hit by an Israel air strike as part of ‘operation Breaking Dawn’. At least 9 Palestinians were killed in the attack, including a 5-year-old child. pic.twitter.com/h56fsPpJTT
— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) August 5, 2022
Palestinian authorities in Gaza have said that 650 housing units have been damaged in 24 hours since the start of the Israeli onslaught, which has targeted several residential towers, local media reported.
The Palestinian health ministry has warned that health facilities in Gaza are facing a total shutdown within 72 hours.
The power outages caused by the closure of the enclave's sole power plant, due to Israeli prevention of fuel trucks from entering Gaza, means that hospitals are set to face "difficult and decisive" hours.
"The power outage poses a serious threat to the work of vital departments in hospitals, especially emergency departments, intensive care, operations, dialysis departments, laboratories, nurseries, laundries, oxygen systems and medical gases," the ministry said in a statement.
"In light of these developments, the Ministry of Health announces the cessation of work in outpatient clinics in all hospitals, and the cessation of scheduled surgeries to give the full opportunity to conduct emergency operations for the victims of the ongoing aggression.
"The Ministry of Health calls on all international, humanitarian and relief institutions to stand up to their responsibilities to pressure the Israeli occupation to allow patients in need of critical care to pass through the Beit Hanoun crossing immediately and work to supply health facilities with its urgent needs and fuel supplies."
The ministry added that Israel, under its 15-year blockade of Gaza, is preventing the entry of 24 diagnostic x-ray machines, in addition to preventing the entry of need spare parts needed for other life-saving machinery.
The health sector in Gaza had been facing "the worst situation in years" before the assault even began, it added, experiencing a 40 percent shortage of medical supplies, 30 percent of the required emergency and surgical supplies and 60 percent of laboratory and blood bank supplies.
The death toll in Gaza on Saturday has risen to 15 people killed as Israeli jets continue to pummel overcrowded residential areas in the Palestinian enclave, according to the health ministry.
Among those killed are a five-year-old girl, a 23-year-old woman, and a 75-year-old grandmother. At least 125 civilians have been wounded, with the numbers likely to grow.
Meanwhile, two soldiers were lightly injured by rocket shrapnel in southern Israel.
Mohammed Abu Salmiyeh, the director of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, told Middle East Eye on Saturday that the death toll from the Israeli bombardment has reached 12 Palestinians.
He added that at least 80 other Palestinians were treated at the same hospital, the main hospital in the Gaza Strip. Five people are in critical condition and have been admitted to the intensive care unit.
Abu Salmiyeh said the health sector is not prepared for war, due to the severe shortage of supplies as a result of the Israeli blockade on Gaza.
"In an effort to save the lives of Palestinians in Gaza, we are appealing to the international community to supply Gaza hospitals with the necessary supplies and fuel," he told MEE. Gaza's only power plant is due to shut down on Saturday, according to the energy authority, threatening supplies to the hospital.
The health sector in Gaza is experiencing a 40 percent shortage of medical supplies, he pointed out, adding that 30 percent of the required emergency and surgical supplies are also absent.
X-ray equipment is also prohibited from entering the Gaza Strip by Israeli authorities.
"Israeli forces are using lethal force against Palestinian citizens, resulting in the amputation of upper and lower limbs of children who were transported to hospitals yesterday," Abu Salmiyeh said.
Interview by Hind Khoudary
A friendly match between the football clubs Juventus and Atletico Madrid scheduled for Sunday in Tel Aviv has been cancelled, Spanish media reported.
The two clubs cited security reasons, amid the ongoing hostilities between Israel and armed groups in the Gaza Strip since Friday afternoon.
The match was due to be held at the Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv, Israel, on 7 August.
The development comes on the second day of Israel's bombardment of Gaza, which has killed at least 11 Palestinians and wounded more than 80, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
Palestinian armed groups in Gaza have responded with rockets that targeted Tel Aviv and a number of other cities and facilities.
The Energy Authority in Gaza announced on Saturday that the only power plant in the besieged strip will completely shut down at noon time.
The authority indicated in a statement that the decision came due to the Israeli blockade and road closures since Tuesday, and the resulting inability to supply the fuel needed to operate the plant.
"The available energy in Gaza has reached 120 megawatts of electricity, at a time when Gaza needs more than 500 megawatts per day in the summer," the statement said, explaining that after the shutdown the electricity supply for homes will be for only four hours per day.
The development comes on the second day of Israel's bombardment of Gaza, which killed at least 11 Palestinians and wounded more than 80, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
A Palestinian member of the Israeli parliament, Sami Abu Shehadeh, has slammed the Israeli military operation in Gaza as part of an election campaign by caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz.
“Israel’s latest aggression in Gaza shows the will of Lapid and Gantz and their [governing] coalition to do anything to stay in power, including the killing of a 5-year-old girl. This new war crime is part of an immoral electoral campaign to show they can be as criminal as Benjamin Netanyahu," Shehadeh told Middle East Eye, referring to the leader of the opposition, who led three military campaigns against Gaza during his time as prime minister.
"The Palestinian people are in urgent need of international protection. The Israeli government has increased its attacks and crimes in Palestine, and this isn’t only about a particular faction: their attacks go from human rights organisations to the families of Sheikh Jarrah," Shehadeh, a lawmaker with the Joint List, added.
"Who will stop these war crimes? The international community keeps rewarding the Israeli occupation in a way that apartheid gets deeper. But it isn’t irreversible: we shall continue struggling for justice, freedom and equality, which is the only way to achieve a lasting peace."
Good morning MEE readers,
We continue our coverage of the Israeli assault on Gaza as it enters its second day.
A Palestinian man identified as Tameem Hijazi was killed on Saturday morning in Khan Younis, taking the death toll to 11 since Israeli bombardment began on Friday afternoon.
More than 80 people have been wounded so far, with many in critical condition, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
Translation: A photo of the martyr Tamim Ghassan Hijazi, who was killed in the occupation's bombing, east of Khan Younis, in the south of the Gaza Strip.
Overnight, Israeli jets continued to bomb several areas in the besieged strip, while dozens of Palestinian rockets were fired in response, triggering sirens across Israeli cities in the south.
One Israeli was lightly wounded in the Eshkol regional council south of Gaza in southern Israel after rocket shrapnel landed in the area.
The Israeli army also carried out overnight raids on Palestinian towns near Ramallah and Hebron in the occupied West Bank, arresting 20 people.
The Israeli assault on Friday is the most serious round of violence since last year's war in May.
During the 11-day campaign in 2021, the Israeli army killed 256 Palestinians, including 66 children. In Israel, 13 people were killed by Palestinian rockets, including two children.
Late on Friday, Egyptian mediators were in contact with both Israel and Palestinian groups in Gaza, seeking to bring hostilities to a quick end, according to Egyptian media.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Israel's declared target in the operation, said it was not time for truce talks.
Ran Kochav, a spokesperson of the Israeli army, also said Israel is not holding any negotiations and was preparing for the operation to last for a week.
Meanwhile, Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, Jerusalem and within Israel are planning to hold demonstrations against the Israeli assault later on Saturday.
Protests are expected in Haifa, Umm al-Fahm, Jerusalem, Ramallah and other West Bank cities.
Please continue to follow us for more updates, and check out our Twitter and Instagram for the latest coverage.
Hello MEE readers.
Israel on Friday launched a series of air strikes and artillery fire in Gaza in an attack that left at least 10 Palestinians dead, including a five-year-old girl. At least 75 people have been injured as well, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, as one of the air strikes hit a residential building in central Gaza.
Palestinian and Israeli analysts told MEE that the timing and the conduct of the attack was strange. The timeline of events goes like this: Israel arrested Bassam el-Saadi, a senior member of the Islamic Jihad group, in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin earlier this week. Then, after receiving no response from the Islamic Jihad, Israel launched air strikes that killed Palestinians, including a top member of the group, on the grounds that the organisation was planning to attack.
In response to Israel's bombardment of Gaza, the Islamic Jihad group said that it fired more than 100 rockets into Israel.
"The bottom line is, after Israel allegedly tried to prevent Islamic Jihad attacks, it is now receiving rockets that apparently would not have happened if Israel did not attack first," veteran Israeli analyst Meron Rapoport told MEE.
The US issued a statement that strongly defended Israel, saying it "has a right to defend itself". US President Joe Biden visited Israel just a few weeks ago.
Hamas, the leading political faction in the Gaza Strip, said that it had "all options open" in response to Israel, while Islamic Jihad said that "there are no red lines in this battle" and the city of Tel Aviv will fall under rocket fire.
Sirens have gone off across Israel amid the rocket fire from Gaza, while Palestinians continue to fear further Israeli bombardment.
Several Palestinian residents of the apartment building bombed by Israel were shocked at the attack, questioning why Israel's military was continuing to bomb civilians.
That's a wrap from the Middle East Eye team for now, please continue to follow us for more updates, and check out our Twitter and Instagram for the latest coverage.
The United Nations' special coordinator for the Middle East peace process has said there was "no justification" for attacks against civilians, after Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip left at least 10 Palestinians dead, including a five-year-old girl.
"I am deeply concerned by the ongoing escalation between Palestinian militants and Israel, including the targeted killing today of a Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader inside Gaza," Tor Wennesland said in a statement on Friday afternoon.
"The continuing escalation is very dangerous," Wennesland said.
"The progress made in gradually opening Gaza since the end of the May escalation risks being undone, leading to even greater humanitarian needs at a time when global resources are stretched and international financial support for a renewed humanitarian effort in Gaza will not be easily available."
The timing and manner in which this Israeli operation has come about is odd, veteran Israeli analyst Meron Rapoport tells Middle East Eye.
"This is undoubtedly one of the strangest events," he said.
"Israel arrests a senior member of Islamic Jihad in the West Bank, the group does not respond," Rapoport continued, referring to the arrest of Bassam al-Saadi earlier this week in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.
'After Israel allegedly tried to prevent Islamic Jihad attacks, it is now receiving rockets that apparently would not have happened if Israel did not attack first'
- Meron Rapoport, Israeli analyst
But then, "Israel puts tens of thousands of residents in the areas adjacent to Gaza under curfew on the grounds that Islamic Jihad is planning a response, then kills senior members of the group in Gaza, as well as civilians, on the grounds that they planned to attack Israel".
The analyst noted that Israel was essentially punishing the Islamic Jihad group for not attacking in retaliation to Saadi's arrest, given that the group only launched rockets after Israel launched air strikes on Gaza.
"[Israeli Defence Minister Benny] Gantz said this evening 'they cannot threaten Israel'. Then, after the action that came ostensibly to prevent shooting at Israel, Islamic Jihad ends up firing [rockets] at Israel, and hundreds of thousands of people in southern Israel enter protected rooms or shelters," he said.
"The bottom line is, after Israel allegedly tried to prevent Islamic Jihad attacks, it is now receiving rockets that apparently would not have happened if Israel did not attack first."
Following the Israeli air strikes that killed at least 10 Palestinians, including senior Islamic Jihad commander Taiseer al-Jabari, the group said it fired 100 rockets first as an initial response late on Friday.
"So what is behind this twisted logic?" asked Rapoport.
"One possibility is that [Prime Minister Yair] Lapid wants to establish his position as a 'strong' prime minister, less than three months before the general elections, while the [opposition] Benjamin Netanyahu bloc is gaining strength in the polls."
The office of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh has blamed Israel for attacking Gaza, escalating tensions, and killing Islamic Jihad leader Taiseer al-Jabari, along with civilians.
"Haniyeh made it clear to everyone that this crime is condemned and that the occupation bears its repercussions and consequences," his office said in a statement.
Haniyeh's office added that he had received calls from international and regional figures to discuss the situation.
He also warned "all options are open", in response to Israel's aggression.
