As the war on Gaza entered its 376th day, the Israeli occupation forces continued their raids on the besieged strip amidst the demolition and intensive shelling of the Jabalia area, while the government media office in the strip issued a distress call to open a safe passage immediately to save the health system in the north.
Five Palestinians were killed and others were injured in an Israeli shelling of a house near the Italian Tower in the Al-Nasr neighbourhood in northwestern Gaza, which was subjected to heavy artillery shelling on Wednesday morning.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that the Israeli occupation committed six massacres against civilians, with 65 dead and 140 injured arriving at hospitals in the past 24 hours.
The ministry confirmed that the death toll from the Israeli aggression has risen to 42,409 dead and 99,153 injured since October 7, warning that several victims are trapped under the rubble and on the roads and that ambulance and civil defence crews cannot reach them.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, confirmed that the destruction in the Gaza Strip as a result of the Israeli war is “unprecedented”, and that the destruction of UNRWA has become one of the objectives of the war, adding that “the situation in Gaza is horrific for professional relief workers and the extent of the destruction is unprecedented.”
In the meantime, Algeria called for an urgent meeting of the Security Council to discuss developments in the situation in Gaza and efforts to stop the Israeli aggression against the Palestinians. The Algerian mission in New York reported that the meeting will be held today, Wednesday, in response to the Algerian request.
On the ground, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), announced the detonation of a building that had been previously booby-trapped in an Israeli infantry force west of the city of Jabalia Al-Balad in the northern Gaza Strip, in addition to detonating an anti-personnel explosive device in the rescue force as soon as it advanced to the site.
Al-Qassam fighters also targeted an Israeli military bulldozer of the “D9” type with a “Yassin 105” shell in the Rayyan area east of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
For its part, the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement, announced the implementation of a complex ambush with the Al-Qassam Brigades, targeting three Merkava tanks with Shawaaz bombs, anti-tank shells of the “Tandem” type, and “RPGs” in the Al-Qassasib neighbourhood in the centre of the Jabalia camp in the northern Gaza Strip.
In a related context, the Israeli occupation army launched violent raids on the border town of Muhaibib in southern Lebanon, and the town witnessed the bombing of buildings after they were booby-trapped.
Media outlets affiliated with the Hezbollah group reported a significant increase in the pace of attacks and confrontations on the axes of Taybeh – Rab Thalatheen – Markaba – Houla in southern Lebanon, where the sounds of explosions resound and clouds of smoke rise from the area.
“Lebanon is being subjected to ongoing aggression in clear violation of international humanitarian law,” said caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, noting that “to date, around 2,400 people have been martyred, more than 10,000 others have been injured, and around one million of our people have been displaced due to the devastating war waged by Israel, and the losses are still rising.”
Mikati stressed that “in these difficult circumstances, it is necessary to move forward with implementing the Lebanese Response Plan to enhance public services and ensure adequate support for Lebanese institutions, in addition to providing immediate humanitarian assistance.”
