Israel's attacks on Gaza Strip continue to intensify for 43 straight days

By Anadolu Staff

The Israeli army's onslaught on the Gaza Strip entered day 43 Saturday.

“Innocent civilians, including thousands of children, have died in the past weeks,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen. “One horror does not justify another.”

The Israeli army announced it had taken control of the Gaza Port and demolished the monument built there in memory of those killed in the raid on the MV Marmara ship that was headed to help the blockaded region in 2010.

After claiming that the main headquarters of the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, was underneath it, Israel occupied the Al-Shifa Medical Complex. But other than rusty weapons and several cameras it claimed to have found in the building, Israel did not present any evidence for its claims, which sparked criticism.

UN rapporteurs reported that Israel committed "genocide" with its serious violations against Palestinians in Gaza.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said Gaza has turned from the world's largest open-air prison into its largest open cemetery due to Israel's ongoing blockade and intense attacks.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said Palestinians will not accept Israel's attempts to occupy Gaza or separate it from the West Bank.

The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that Israeli tanks surrounded the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in the north of Gaza and teams could not reach the wounded in the area.

There were scores of deaths and injuries from an Israeli air strike Friday that targeted the central and southern parts of Gaza.

According to a statement by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Gaza, Israeli helicopters and planes attacked houses in Khan Younis and Rafah in the south of Gaza.

- More than 7,000 people face death in Al-Shifa Hospital

The government in Gaza announced that more than 7,000 displaced people, patients and medical staff at the Al-Shifa Hospital, besieged by Israel, are facing death because of a lack of water and food.

‘There is no water, food or milk for children in the Al-Shifa Hospital where 650 patients and approximately 7,000 displaced people are sheltered," said the government's media office.

Hamas's military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility for the armed attack on an Israeli checkpoint in West Jerusalem where an Israeli soldier was killed and four others injured.

Al-Qassam Brigades also announced that 21 Israeli military vehicles were completely or partially destroyed at conflict points in Gaza.

It also announced that its forces destroyed a building where Israeli forces were hiding in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip.

Thomas White, Gaza Director of the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), wrote on X: "This situation affects hundreds of thousands of people."

The UN said it regretted that Israel described the resolution adopted by the UN Security Council demanding an immediate and extended pause in the conflict in Gaza as "detached from reality.”

Hamas Political Bureau head Ismail Haniyeh said: “The resistance forces are ready for a long-term war.”

The Israeli army bombed the Jabalia Refugee Camp in northern Gaza.

- 3 Palestinians killed in attack on Jenin refugee camp

The Israeli army raided the city of Jenin and its refugee camp in the north of the West Bank with dozens of military vehicles, according to the official Palestinian news agency, WAFA.

In attacks carried out by Israeli soldiers on the Jenin refugee camp, three Palestinians were killed and nine were injured.

The Israeli army reported that it carried out an air strike against Hezbollah "targets" in Lebanese territory.

Israeli Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi said the ongoing occupation in the northern Gaza Strip will spread to the south.

“We are close to eliminating the military system in the Northern Gaza Strip. We will continue in other areas,” said Halevi.

UN Rapporteur Pedro Arrojo-Agudo emphasized that Israel should stop using water as a tool of war in the Gaza Strip.

Continuing restrictions around the Al-Aqsa complex, Israeli police prevented Palestinians from performing Friday prayers in the mosque.

- 2 Palestinians killed, 47 detained in West Bank

The Israeli army announced that two Palestinians were killed for allegedly opening fire on Israeli soldiers near Hebron, in the south of the West Bank.

Israeli forces detained 47 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

“Israeli forces continued detention raids against Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem,” said the Palestinian Prisoner’s Club. “The number of Palestinians detained in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since October 7 reached 2,800.”

The Palestinian Statistics Center stated that there are still 807,000 Palestinians who have not left their homes in Gaza and Northern Gaza cities, which were exposed to intense attacks by the Israeli army.

Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said Israel's expansion of its occupation of the Gaza Strip toward the south poses "great risks,” noting that the protection of civilians is the first priority.

“The only solution now is to stop the war," he said.

- Latest figures

Since Israel started bombarding Gaza on Oct. 7, more than 12,000 Palestinians have been killed, including over 8,300 women and children, and more than 30,000 others have been injured, according to the latest figures.

An Israeli blockade has also cut Gaza off from fuel, electricity and water supplies, and reduced aid deliveries to a trickle.

The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is around 1,200, according to official figures.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi