-Israel continues bombing civilians
-West Bank is also being targeted
-Australia-Turkey condemns school massacre
More than 75,000 Palestinians have been displaced in southwest Gaza in the past few days, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said.
“Over the decades, Palestinian civilians have been caught up in wars and conflicts, far too many times,” Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA commissioner-general, said on X. “Just in the past few days, more than 75,000 people have been displaced in south west Gaza,” he added.
Lazzarini noted that the Israeli authorities issued additional orders overnight forcing more people to flee, “again and again.” Some of the fleeing Palestinians are only able to carry their children with them, “some carry their whole lives in one small bag,” he added.
“They are going to overcrowded places where shelters are already overflowing with families. They have lost everything and need everything,” Lazzarini said. “Unlike in other wars, the people of Gaza are trapped and have nowhere to go,” he added.
The Israeli army issued late Saturday and early yesterday evacuation orders for residents in Gaza the latest of which was issued for the “humanitarian safe zone” in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
Australia yesterday joined the international community to condemn the deaths of dozens of civilians in an Israeli air strike on a school housing displaced Palestinians in Gaza. "Innocent Palestinians cannot continue to pay the price of defeating Hamas," Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a post on X, calling for an "immediate" cease-fire in the besieged enclave.
"Australia condemns the deaths of civilians from Israel’s strike on Al-Tabeen School. Israel must comply with international humanitarian law," Wong said. "We again call for an immediate ceasefire," she added.
At the same time, five Palestinians injured as Israeli army expands evacuation orders in southern Gaza. At least five Palestinians were injured on Sunday when the Israeli army targeted areas in the southern Gaza Strip shortly after expanding evacuation orders. The army expanded these orders to include more areas in Khan Younis after it already ordered residents to evacuate the Al Jalaa neighborhood of Khan Youn is previously designated as a “safe humanitarian zone” by the army.
Medical sources at Nasser Medical Complex told Anadolu that five people were injured in an Israeli air strike targeting two buildings in Hamed City, north of Khan Younis, shortly after residents were ordered to evacuate. A Palestinian was injured by Israeli gunfire and 17 others were arrested during Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society and state media reports.
In the northern West Bank city of Nablus, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported that its medical teams transported a young man to the hospital after he was shot by live am munition in the Al-Ain refugee camp. The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that during the raid on the camp, the Israeli army arrested three Palestinians and searched several homes in and around the camp.
The Israeli army ordered Khan Younis residents to evacuate the Al Jalaa neighbourhood of Khan Younis previously designated as a “safe humanitarian zone” by the army. The al-Jalaa neighbourhood will no longer be part of the “humanitarian zone,” an army statement said.
It claimed that the Palestinian resistance group Hamas “operates” from the neighbourhood and that it will be a “dangerous combat zone.” Although the Israeli army has previously designated certain locations “safe,” it continued to pound these areas, causing many fatalities among Palestinians.
The UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process voiced concern about an Israeli attack on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in Gaza. “Every day civilians continue to bear the brunt of this conflict amidst horror, displacement and endless suffering.
"The cost in lives of this war is evident with every passing day as we have witnessed yet another devastating strike on a school sheltering thousands of displaced Palestinians, with dozens of fatalities," Tor Wennesland said in a statement.
Wennesland said that he is encouraged by the perseverance of the leaders of the US, Egypt and Qatar as mediators and their call on both sides to conclude a cease-fire and hostages release deal in the besieged enclave. Stressing that the UN is committed to supporting all efforts toward that goal, he added: "An end to this nightmare is long overdue."
US President Joe Biden again warned Iran about a possible retaliatory attack against Israel amid rising tensions in the Middle East. "Don’t," Biden responded to reporters before entering his vehicle, when he was asked: "What’s your message to Iran?"
Biden issued the same warning in April, before Iran carried out a rocket and drone attack against Israel in retaliation for the April 1 air strike on its diplomatic facility in the Syrian capital of Damascus, killing at least seven members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including two top generals.
ZH
