The Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Saturday that the Israeli occupation committed nine massacres against civilians in the Gaza Strip, killing 83 and injuring 125 in the past 24 hours.
This brings the death toll to 28,858 since the Israeli war on Gaza began on 7 October. The ministry warned that “some victims are still under the rubble and on the roads, and the occupation is blocking ambulance and civil defense crews from reaching them.”
As Israel continued to threaten the city of Rafah and ignored the calls from international organizations, the European Union, and the United States to withdraw from the military operation there, many of those displaced from Rafah had to return to the crowded center of Gaza, without any guarantee of security.
The Palestinian Red Crescent published pictures that it said showed “the brutality of the occupation forces against two doctors who were arrested a week ago from Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis and were abused and humiliated before they were released on Friday.”
The Red Crescent said that Israel is still detaining 12 of its staff, including seven who were arrested from inside Al-Amal Hospital more than a week ago, and urged the international community “to intervene urgently to pressure the occupation authorities to release the detainees immediately.”
Meanwhile, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said that Israel’s long-term goal is to eliminate the agency. He added, “Israel thinks that eliminating the agency means eliminating the right of Palestinian refugees to return.”
The European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also called on Israel not to launch a military action in Rafah, saying that it “would worsen the already catastrophic humanitarian situation.”
On the “X” platform, Borrell called for the protection of all civilians under international humanitarian law and the order of the International Court of Justice. He also urged the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) to “release all hostages immediately and unconditionally.”
At the Munich Conference, the G7 expressed its concern about the risk of forced displacement of Palestinian civilians from Gaza and the possible dire consequences of a large-scale Israeli military operation in Rafah.
Also on Saturday, Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh asked the UN Security Council to set a deadline for ending the Israeli occupation. Shtayyeh said at the African Summit in Addis Ababa: “Raise your voice to stop the Israeli aggression, siege, and settlement.”
