Israeli forces struck the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, killing 22 people overnight, including 18 children, bringing the death toll in Gaza to more than 34,000, the Gaza Health Ministry reported on Sunday.
Israel has carried out almost daily airstrikes on Rafah, where over half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people have taken refuge from fighting elsewhere. Israel had earlier vowed to expand a ground offensive on the city on the border with Egypt, despite international calls for restraint, including from the US.
The latest attack late Saturday night killed a man, his wife and their 3-year-old child. A second strike killed 17 children and two women, all from one large family, according to hospital records.
The latest strikes came hours after the US House of Representatives passed a $26.3 billion aid bill for Israel. Earlier, the US said it was going to impose sanctions on the IDF’s Netzah Yehuda for alleged human rights violations against Palestinians in the West Bank, because the battalion has been linked to extremism and violence against Palestinians in the past
Tense relations between Israel and its most loyal ally, the US, are gradually deteriorating. This is mainly due to the two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. According to the White House position, a two-state solution is the best option for the people of Gaza, the Palestinian people and the Israeli people. Despite, Israel’s position is extremely different, Benjamin Netanyahu states that as long as he remains prime minister, he “will continue to strongly insist on this.”
The conflict between Israel and Hamas has caused more than 34,000 Palestinian deaths and 76,980 injuries, according to local health authorities. Some 80 per cent of the population has fled their homes and moved to other parts of the besieged coastal enclave, which experts say is on the verge of starvation.
The conflict, now in its seventh month, has led to regional unrest and rising tensions. Earlier this month, an open exchange of airstrikes began between Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran, sparking fears of a possible outbreak of a full-scale war between the long-time adversaries.
However, tensions are rising not only in the region, but also in Israel itself. Thousands of Israelis had earlier gathered in the streets of Israel to call for new elections to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a deal with Hamas, which is still holding about 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 people, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responding by refusing exchange offers with Hamas.
