(The Muslim News): 39 more Palestinians were killed and 93 others were injured in Israeli Defence Forces indiscriminate attacks in the last 24 hours in the Gaza Strip, taking the overall death toll to 39,363 and 90,923 injured since last Oct. 7, the Health Ministry in the enclave said on Monday.
Three civilians were killed and others were injured this evening in an Israeli shelling of the Nasser neighborhood in Gaza City.
Local sources reported that three Palestinians were killed and several others, including children and women, were injured as a result of an Israeli bombing that targeted an apartment near Al-Wehda Tower in the Nasser neighborhood.
One civilian was killed and many others were injured Monday evening in an Israeli airstrike north of Rafah city, south of the Gaza Strip.
Medical sources said that Israeli warplanes targeted a house in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood, south of the city, resulting in the killing of one civilian and causing the injury to another.
The Israeli military tanks also targeted a house in the Batn al-Sameen area, south of Khan Yunis city, south of the Strip, reported Wafa News Agency.
Israeli forces also blew up a residential block in the Bureij camp, in the central Gaza Strip.
The UN coordinator in Gaza on Monday said there should be compliance with international law after Israel’s bombing of a drinking water reservoir in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip.
“International humanitarian law was very clear what it asks of parties to the conflict, so I don’t think you need an additional commentary from me,” Sigrid Kaag, senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza, told Anadolu.
“In the meantime, what we do need, regardless, also in compliance and alignment with international law, is for safe access, safety and security to deliver, and we need to obviously ramp up all facilities that provide water, that we have clean water for the population, that we can provide for sanitation,” she added.
The Israeli army has admitted its soldiers were responsible for the bombing of the water reservoir in Tal al-Sultan, and is said to have initiated an investigation.
The incident has raised alarm about the worsening water crisis in the area.
A video circulating online shows an Israeli soldier planting an explosive device at the main water reservoir, which was then detonated.
One of the soldiers posted a video of the explosion on social media with the caption “Destruction of the Tel Sultan water reservoir in honor of Shabbat.”
Local institutions and municipalities in Gaza have repeatedly accused the Israeli military of deliberately destroying water networks, wells, and desalination plants, exacerbating the drinking water crisis.
Fuel restrictions imposed by Israel have further hindered the operation of remaining desalination facilities in the region.
A Palestinian child died on Monday of severe malnutrition caused by Israel’s crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, according to a local medical source, reports Al Jazeera.
Ali Anas al-Tater, 6, breathed his last at the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City as a result of acute malnutrition exacerbated by the prolonged Israeli siege and the ensuing food crisis, the source told Anadolu.
Earlier this month, Hatem al-Hour, head of the neonatal department at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, warned that the number of Palestinians suffering from malnutrition was beyond the capacity of hospitals amid the ongoing Israeli war.
On July 11, the United Nations World Food Program warned that the collapse of the health care system and lack of sustainable food sources put Gaza’s children at risk.
The Israeli army intensified on Monday its artillery bombardment across various areas in the Gaza Strip.
Witnesses reported to Anadolu Agency that the Israeli forces continued their fifth consecutive day of incursions into the southwestern outskirts of Gaza City, particularly in the neighborhoods of Tel al-Hawa and Sabra.
The invading forces opened fire with machine guns toward residential buildings, conducting search and inspection operations that involved detonations and the burning of several residential structures, the witnesses said.
The southern neighborhoods of Gaza City, including Sabra, Zeitoun, Tel al-Hawa, and Sheikh Ajleen, were subject to heavy artillery shelling, they added.
Meanwhile, the Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson, Mahmoud Basal, said: “Israeli occupation forces and their vehicles remain present in the Tel al-Hawa area, specifically near the Jordanian Hospital. They continue to burn homes, abduct civilians, and carry out killings.”
“Three martyrs were recovered from the Sabra neighborhood after being targeted by Israeli artillery a few days ago,” Basal added.
The northwestern areas of the Nuseirat refugee camp, the town of Al-Musaddar, and northeastern Deir al-Balah city in the central governorate also experienced intense artillery bombardment.
In southern Gaza, Israeli military vehicles made limited incursions into the east of Khan Younis. Witnesses reported heavy artillery fire and intense gunfire.
Israeli drones fired relentlessly and dropped bombs east of Khan Younis. Simultaneously, the Israeli artillery targeted the neighborhoods of Sheikh Nasser, Bani Suheila, and Khuzaa.
Additionally, the Israeli army demolished residential buildings in the town of Al-Qarara, northeast of Khan Younis, amid clashes between Palestinian resistance fighters and Israeli forces operating in the area.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s health ministry has declared a polio epidemic across the Palestinian enclave, blaming Israel’s devastating military offensive for the spread of the deadly virus.
In a statement on Telegram, the ministry on Monday said the situation “poses a health threat to the residents of Gaza and neighbouring countries” – the latest sign of a worsening public health emergency caused by Israel’s war on the besieged territory.
An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 and more than 200 taken captive.
[Photo Palestinians mourn killing of their near & dear ones by Israeli attacks on Bureij refugee camp. their bodies are brought to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on 29 07 2024. Photojournalist: Ashraf Amra/ AA]
