Numerous people were killed in a major Israeli military attack on Jabalia in the north of the Gaza Strip. There are different reports about how many of the dead are civilians.
According to the Israeli military, around 50 terrorists were killed in Tuesday’s strike, including a mastermind of the Islamist Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7. The Ministry of Health, which is controlled by the radical Islamic Hamas, also speaks of at least 50 people dead. The Ministry of Health said on Tuesday that 150 more people were injured in the bombing of the Jabalia refugee camp in the north of the Palestinian territory. Hamas also claims that seven hostages it abducted from Israel were killed in the airstrike. Among them are three hostages with foreign passports, the Palestinian organization said on Wednesday. The information could not initially be independently verified. At least 35 people, including children and women, were killed in the attack, according to a doctor at Kamal Adwan Hospital. In addition, more than 200 injured people were admitted to the clinic, said Hussam Abu Safija of the German Press Agency.
The Israeli army confirmed an attack on Jabalia. When asked about the civilian victims of the major attack, an Israeli army spokesman told the US television channel CNN: “This is the tragedy of war.”
Large craters and completely destroyed houses can be seen in images from the bombed city. Palestinians are searching for survivors and bodies in the mountains of rubble. Video footage from the AFP news agency showed at least 47 bodies being recovered from the rubble.
The Israeli military spoke of a “large-scale attack” on a “Hamas military stronghold” in the west of the city. Terrorists, among other things, were trained there. In addition to ground troops, combat aircraft were also involved in the attack.
The Israeli army said Hamas’ “Jabalia Battalion” had occupied civilian buildings in the city of Gaza. The attack damaged Hamas’s command structure and its ability to attack Israeli soldiers and destroyed “underground terror infrastructure” beneath the buildings.
The operation killed Hamas commander Ibrahim Biari, who was reportedly involved in the Hamas massacres in the Israeli border area three and a half weeks ago. As is usual for Hamas, he hid among civilians. The Islamist organization had control of civilian buildings in the area, it said. Meanwhile, two Israeli soldiers were also killed in fighting with Hamas. The two 20-year-old men died on Tuesday in the north of the coastal area, it was said.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he was “deeply concerned” about the escalation of the conflict. This included the expansion of ground operations by the Israeli armed forces as well as intensified air strikes and continued rocket fire from Gaza into Israel, the United Nations announced on Tuesday in New York. Guterres reiterated calls for a humanitarian ceasefire and unhindered access for aid workers to the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, Bolivia broke off diplomatic relations with Israel over its attacks on the Gaza Strip. The South American country made the decision “in rejection and condemnation of the aggressive and disproportionate Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip and the threat to international peace and security,” the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
At the same time, the South American countries Chile and Colombia recalled their ambassadors for consultations. “Chile strongly condemns the military operation in the Gaza Strip and notes with grave concern that this operation, which constitutes a collective punishment of the Palestinian civilian population, does not respect the fundamental norms of international law,” the Chilean Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Saudi Arabia has also sharply criticized the Israeli attack on the refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. The attack caused “the death and injury of a large number of innocent civilians,” the Foreign Ministry in Riyadh said on Wednesday. Saudi Arabia condemned the bombing “in the strongest possible terms” and denounced the “inhumane attacks” on the refugee camp “by the Israeli occupying forces,” it said.
Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th and killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians. Since the Hamas attack, Israel has been constantly bombarding the Gaza Strip. According to new information from the Hamas government, more than 8,500 people were killed. This number could not initially be independently verified. Israel is also continuing its offensive with ground troops in the Palestinian territory despite international calls for a humanitarian ceasefire.
