The Kerem Shalom border crossing between Israel and Gaza opened on Sunday for the first time for aid trucks to enter the enclave but this did not stop Israel from launching a series of military operations attacking medical facilities, including the Kamal Adwan and al-Shifa hospitals.
Mass casualties were reported in Israeli strikes on the Jabalia and Nuseirat refugee camps.
In a statement, Gaza’s Ministry of Health spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra denounced Israel for trying to “eliminate” the besieged enclave’s health sector, amid the ongoing attacks on hospitals.
“What the occupation is doing is part of the scenario that began in northern Gaza from the Shifa complex,” he said.
“Targeting Nasser medical complex is part of the occupation’s policy to eliminate the health sector and would bring down the health system in the southern Gaza Strip,” he added.
The Israeli army is detaining Ahmed Muhanna, the director of Gaza’s al-Awda Hospital, in an unknown location, Ashraf al-Qudra said.
Other medical staff at the hospital in the Jabalia refugee camp were detained, stripped and interrogated for four hours in “inhumane conditions” before being released, al-Qudra added.
It isn’t surprising that UK’s former Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace said that Israel’s tactics will fuel a longer conflict.
Wallace warned that Israel risks undermining its legal authority to defend itself by embarking on a “killing rage” against the Palestinian people.
Wallace, who stepped down as the top defence official in August, said Israel’s “original legal authority of self-defence is being undermined by its own actions.”
“Netanyahu’s mistake was to miss the [Hamas] attack in the first place,” Wallace opined.
He added, “But if he thinks a killing rage will rectify matters, then he is very wrong. His methods will not solve this problem. In fact, I believe his tactics will fuel the conflict for another 50 years.”
U.S Defense Secretary To Visit Israel
U.S Defence Secretary, Lloyd Austin is slated to arrive in Israel on Monday.
It is said that Austin will push Israeli officials to define milestones for its war against Hamas in Gaza.
According to an Israeli senior Defense Department official, Austin will receive specific updates on how the war cabinet Minister of Defense, (Yoav) Gallant, and the Israel Defense Forces assess their progress in the current phase of the campaign in Gaza to dismantle the military infrastructure of Hamas.
The official added that will press Israeli officials on “what metrics they’re looking at in order to transition to the next phase of their campaign in Gaza,” noting that he will work to “drill down” on efforts to increase humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza and will also work to mitigate harm to civilians.
Lloyd is not the first U.S official to visit Israel as such he is going to bring the traditional U.S message that Israel is absolutely right to conduct this war to defeat Hamas but it has to do so within international law and try and reduce the number of civilian casualties.
However, Israel has made no attempt to minimise civilian deaths.
Israeli continues to prosecute the war the way they see fit and they will continue to do that even after Lloyd Austin’s visit.
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