The Israeli bombardment of Gaza and the salvoes of Palestinian rockets over Israel continued this Tuesday in its ninth day. At the same time, in the West Bank, the violence intensified, and the number of fatalities increased, which made the international community intensify its efforts to stop the escalation of the war.
Since this new cycle of violence began on May 10th, at least 223 people have been killed, the vast majority of them Palestinians. The UN Security Council will meet for the fourth time for an emergency session on Tuesday. Still, the United States remains opposed to adopting a declaration calling for a cessation of violence.
US President Joe Biden, accused by his party of lacking firmness concerning Israel, expressed support for a “cease-fire” on Monday in a new phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Egypt and Jordan are leading the diplomatic offensive to try to stop the violence between Israel and Palestinian militias after the Islamist movement Hamas stated “neither denying nor confirming” the information spread by Israeli media about a possible cease-fire with Israel, which would come into effect the following day at 6:00 a.m. However, the Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, did not offer any comment.
These rumors come against the backdrop of growing international pressure for a cessation of hostilities. France submitted a resolution to the UN Security Council on May 17th in coordination with Egypt and Jordan, calling for a cease-fire. “The shooting must stop, the time has come for a cease-fire, and the UN Security Council must address the issue,” the Elysée specified.
The previous day’s bombardments hit the offices of the Qatari Red Crescent and the only clinic dedicated to the detection of COVID-19 in this poverty-stricken territory which has been under Israeli blockade for nearly 15 years.
Between Monday, May 17th at night and Tuesday 18th in the morning, the Israeli army recorded the following data:
- At least 90 rockets were fired from Gaza in the direction of Israeli territory.
- 65 terrorist targets were attacked in the narrow enclave of two million inhabitants.
Since May 10th, 3,440 rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip, said the Israeli army, which specified that the anti-aircraft defense system intercepted 90%.
Terrifying Night
“They destroyed our two-story house; I don’t know why they chose us! It was a terrifying and violent night,” narrates Nazmi al-Dahduh, 70, a resident of western Gaza City.
Israeli missiles left craters in the roadway and wrecked the power grid, plunging Gaza into darkness. There is also the risk of a humanitarian crisis, with nearly 40,000 Palestinians displaced and 2,500 people losing their homes in the shelling. Israel had decided on Tuesday to open the Kerem Shalom crossing to bring humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. Still, it closed shortly afterward because of mortar fire on aid trucks, said Cogat, the Israeli agency responsible for civilian operations in the Palestinian territories.
Israeli authorities did not immediately specify when it will open or for how long. The numbers are terrifying since the conflict began.
- 181 Palestinians -at least 61 children- have been killed.
- More than 1,200 Palestinians were injured.
- On the Israeli side, 9 people, including one child, were killed.
- 294 Israeli citizens have been injured by rocket fire.
The Islamist Hamas movement, in power in the Gaza Strip, threatened to fire more rockets. On the other side, the Gaza Strip threatened to fire more missiles at Tel Aviv if Israeli aircraft did not stop targeting civilians.
Dozens of these missiles fell on southern Israel. The Israeli army claims to have targeted what they call “the subway,” which are tunnels they claim to allow the Islamist movement to move its ammunition and Hamas commanders’ houses because the army claims they were supposedly storing weapons.
Discreet Diplomacy
In the West Bank, Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967, President Mahmoud Abbas asked US envoy Hady Amr for intervention from Washington. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki defended Washington’s “discreet” but “intensive” diplomatic approach to the issue.
The Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansur, on Tuesday described as “shameful” the silence on the situation in the UN Security Council, where the blockade continues due to the US refusal to support the cessation of violence. However, President Joe Biden, accused by his party of lack of firmness towards Israel, expressed his support for a cease-fire on Monday.
On the other hand, 26 countries of the European Union agreed on Tuesday to call for a cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in an extraordinary meeting of foreign ministers that could not end with a joint statement on the current conflict due to the Hungarian veto. However, the general feeling of the ministers was to demand a cease-fire, said the High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, at the subsequent press conference.
Although the rocket fires from the enclave – which has already exceeded 3,300 in the last nine days – and Israeli bombardments have not ceased, the frequency of the attacks has been reduced, and they have been more spaced out and with less intensity, while aid is being urged in Gaza.
