Israeli military has increased airstrikes against the Gaza Strip in recent days, including targeted attacks on some of the densely populated refugee camps in the region.
Initially established in 1948 to house Palestinians who fled or were forced to leave their homes during the Arab-Israeli War, the camps today shelter many of the 1.7 million registered refugees in Gaza, according to the United Nations. Even before the war, the camps were already overcrowded, impoverished, and lacking basic infrastructure.
On Tuesday (31), Israeli airstrikes hit the Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza. More than 100 people were killed and hundreds were injured, according to the director of a local hospital. The attack was condemned by humanitarian organizations and diplomats.
Photos and videos of the attacks, which quickly spread across the internet, showed collapsed buildings, children being pulled from the rubble, and bloodied corpses wrapped in bags.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that they carried out the attacks on Jabalya as part of a “large-scale” operation against Hamas’s network of hideouts, operatives, and underground tunnels.
IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said on Wednesday (1) that the attacks killed a senior Hamas commander, Ibrahim Biari, and “dozens” of other militants located “in an area where there are underground tunnels and operations among civilian buildings.”
International community condemned the attack
The attack on Tuesday was widely criticized by Arab countries, which have been pushing for a ceasefire in recent weeks. Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a statement that it “strongly condemns the Israeli bombing of the [Jabalya] camp in Gaza, which resulted in the death and injury of hundreds of innocent people.”
The Bolivian government announced it was severing diplomatic relations with Israel, while Chile and Colombia announced they would recall their ambassadors. In statements announcing the measures, these countries criticized Israel’s military operations in Gaza, describing them as violations of human rights.
The United States, Israel’s most loyal ally, has consistently reiterated its support for the Israeli nation while calling for the minimization of civilian casualties.
When asked about the attacks at a press conference on Tuesday (31), State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that “Israel has the right to defend itself,” but “they also have the burden and responsibility to exercise that self-defense in a way that minimizes harm to civilians.” He added that the Biden administration would not “offer comments on every attack” or speak about an incident without having verified the information on its own.
Israel has repeatedly stated that it does not target civilians and is focused on attacking militants in the Gaza Strip. Following previous attacks that killed civilians, including in refugee camps, the IDF blames Hamas fighters for hiding in populated areas.
“Our fight is with Hamas, not with the people of Gaza. Hamas uses the people of Gaza as human shields, embedding themselves among them in schools, mosques, and hospitals,” Hagari, the IDF spokesperson, said on Saturday (28), urging civilians to stay away from Hamas strongholds.
Where to flee?
Israel advises civilians in Gaza to flee south for their own safety, a measure criticized by the United Nations as effectively impossible in an active war zone. Many families lack the means to leave their homes, while others have been killed during the journey south. Last week, Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported that nearly two-thirds of the victims of Israeli attacks occurred in the southern part of the enclave.
On Wednesday (1), hundreds of holders of foreign passports, including some Americans, and some of the injured Palestinians began to leave the war-torn territory as the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt was finally opened since the Hamas attacks on October 7. A list of foreign passport holders who can leave Gaza through the crossing was released by the Gaza Interior Ministry, controlled by Hamas.
Diplomatic sources confirmed that Qatar mediated an agreement between Egypt, Israel, and Hamas, in coordination with the U.S., to allow limited evacuations from Gaza.
Source: The Washington Post and CBS News