U.S State Department Spokesman, Matthew Miller has stated that his country expects Israel to protect civilians in Gaza during its offensive.
He said that it is “too early” to assess whether Israel is taking adequate measures to protect civilians in its renewed offensive in Gaza.
When asked about reports of mass civilian casualties in Gaza since the fighting began again, Miller answered, “Unfortunately, we do expect to see civilian casualties as a result of this campaign, that is sadly true in all wars.”
Miller also said that there are 750 American citizens, legal permanent residents and their family members remain in Gaza, while more than 1,000 have left since the start of the October 7 attacks.
According to Israeli army, 137 captives are still in Gaza.
“We are determined to continue to fight, dismantle Hamas, and bring all the hostages home,” said Israeli military spokesperson, Daniel Hagari.
Hagari said Israeli forces struck “over 400 Hamas targets throughout the Gaza Strip” in the last 24 hours. He said the strikes “eliminated” Hamas fighters.
It has been striking “rocket launchers”, weapons depots, and other sites allegedly belonging to Hamas, he said.
“We pursued them in northern Gaza. We now pursue Hamas in southern Gaza, too,” he said.
“We will operate with maximum force against Hamas terrorists and infrastructure while minimising harm to civilians,” added Hagari.
Prior to the statement by the Israeli army, the Qassam brigades disclosed that they destroyed 28 Israeli military vehicles in the past 24 hours.
Abu Obeida, spokesperson for the armed wing of Hamas, said that fighters destroyed the military vehicles “completely or partially in all areas in the Gaza Strip where fighting is ongoing”.
Meanwhile, at Nasser Hospital, the number of displaced people has markedly increased again since Saturday, with new shelters being set up in every corner of the car park. Many people are sleeping on the ground.
The hospital located in Khan Younis, where teams from Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF) provide surgical care to patients with trauma and burn injuries, is now overwhelmed because of the continuous influx of new patients.
“The hospital has been receiving multiple severely injured patients nearly every hour,” said Chris Hook, MSF medical coordinator in Khan Younis.
Hook said, “With the situation as it is in the hospital – there is no available space anymore – it really is a terrible situation.”
“Everyone is genuinely worried about what will come next,” he added.
“In a military campaign that has lasted weeks, with only a brief respite, the speed and scale of the bombing continue to plumb the depths of brutality,” said Hook.
“Almost two million people are left without options. The only solution is an immediate and sustained ceasefire and the unrestricted supply of aid to the entirety of the Gaza Strip.”
Chris Hook
Qatar Sends Fund To Support UNRWA
The foreign ministry of Qatar stated that it sent $18m to the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency for the years 2023 and 2024.
“Our support for UNRWA stems from our conviction that it is one of the most important agencies of the United Nations and on which millions of Palestinians depend,” a statement said.
Philippe Lazzarini, the agency’s commissioner-general, remarked, “This contribution from [Qatar] comes at a critical time for the agency as we look to scale up our operations to meet the unprecedented humanitarian needs in the Gaza Strip and across the Middle East.
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Lazzarini noted, “Multi-year agreements such as this one safeguard the agency’s continued delivery of aid and services to Palestine refugees and all civilians in times of emergency.”
“I am grateful to Qatar for its continued support,” he added.
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