A substantial Israeli military presence continues to amass along the Gaza border, sparking heightened speculations about an imminent ground invasion. After a night of intensified airstrikes across the Gaza enclave that led to the destruction of vital infrastructure and the displacement of thousands, the Israeli military claimed to have largely secured its border with Gaza. Israel’s defense minister, in a bold statement, declared that he had “released all restraints” on the troops, boldly asserting that Gaza would “never return to what it was.”
The Israeli military has officially confirmed that the death toll resulting from Saturday’s Hamas attack has surpassed 1,000, marking the deadliest militant assault in Israel’s history. Days after Hamas carried out a devastating incursion into southern Israeli towns, Israeli soldiers are still in the process of recovering the deceased.
On the Gaza side, the health authority reports that the death toll in the enclave has reached 900 since Saturday, including 260 children and 230 women. Desperate residents of Gaza describe the relentless bombardments that have targeted residential buildings, hospitals, and schools, raising alarming concerns about the dire consequences on civilian infrastructure as Israel promises to impose a comprehensive siege.
The Palestinian envoy to the United Nations condemns Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip and its vow to enforce a full siege on the Hamas-controlled Palestinian enclave as “nothing less than genocidal.” In a letter to the UN Security Council, Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour describes these actions as “blatant dehumanization” and a “genocidal” attempt to crush the people, deploying starvation as a method of warfare, and aiming to obliterate their national existence.
In a concerning turn of events, two Palestinians were fatally shot in East Jerusalem by Israel’s border police, underscoring the escalating violence disproportionately impacting youth across the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Further aggravating the crisis, a salvo of rockets from Hezbollah-controlled southern Lebanon targeted northern Israel. The Israeli forces responded with fire, marking the third consecutive day of violence along the Lebanese-Israeli border. The Israeli military also initiated shelling of Syria from the Golan Heights after mortar rounds were fired into the territory.
The United Nations’ Human Rights Council issues a warning, suggesting that there is “clear evidence” of potential war crimes committed by all parties in the latest wave of violence in Israel and Gaza. The Council has been collecting evidence of “war crimes committed by all sides” since Saturday.
Meanwhile, Israel has reportedly identified most of the hostages abducted by Hamas and begun notifying their families. As the situation unfolds, Joe Biden, the President of the United States, declares his unwavering support for Israel, denouncing the Hamas assault that claimed nearly 1,000 lives as an “act of sheer evil.” Notably, at least 14 Americans lost their lives in the attack, with an unknown number of Americans currently being held hostage. The first shipment of US ammunition arrived in Israel on Tuesday. President Biden later expressed his views, stating, “The brutality of Hamas, the bloodthirstiness, brings to mind the worst rampages of ISIS. This is terrorism.”
In another development, EU foreign ministers have reversed the European Commission’s decision to suspend payments to the Palestinian Authority, following an emergency meeting in Oman.
Furthermore, the EU has issued a warning to Elon Musk regarding alleged disinformation related to the Hamas attack on Israel, including the spread of fake news and the use of “repurposed old images” on X, formerly known as Twitter.
