John AdoyiAs Israel continues its retaliation against Hamas’s deadly invasion, the Israeli army on Saturday claimed it has killed two Hamas commanders who were involved in the attack a week ago.
This announcement comes as the death toll at the Gaza Strip which is at the centre of the conflict continues to rise to over 2,000 with more fatalities feared in the coming days as Israel prepares a ground assault.
The military said it killed Merad Abu Merad, who was the head of the Hamas aerial system, and Ali Qadi, a company commander of a commando force.
The army said Qadi was killed by an aircraft under the guidance of the intelligence unit of the military.
The latest escalation of conflict between Israel and Hamas started last Saturday when Hamas troops invaded Israel, killing over 1,000 citizens.
Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said the attack is such that the country will never forget, adding that the attack on the Gaza Strip is just the beginning.
In the last 24 hours, over 320 Palestinians lost their lives, a significant number of whom were women and children. These fatalities occurred during Israeli air strikes on convoys attempting to escape Gaza City, health officials claimed.
The death toll is escalating while Israel persists in its airstrikes on Gaza, even after urging 1.1 million residents to move south in preparation for an imminent ground offensive.
Media reports and videos shared online showed airstrikes from Israel, leveling buildings and destroying structures in Gaza City.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has raised the alarm that aid is running out for people living in Gaza because it is not being allowed into the city.
According to the agency’s head, Philippe Lazzarini, water is lacking in the city because generators do not have fuel to produce clean water and this will lead to the death of thousands because “Water is now the last remaining lifeline,” he said.
He added: “I appeal for the siege on humanitarian assistance to be lifted now.”
In a similar vein, Gaza’s Ministry of Health has asked the humanitarian corridor sealed by Israel to be opened for aids to come in as supplies run out.
“The Ministry of Health urgently demands the opening of the crossings to take the sick and wounded out for treatment abroad and to bring its emergency needs of medicines, medical consumables and fuel to hospitals and medical centres in light of the power outage due to the Israeli aggression.
“We fear that thousands of wounded and sick people will lose their lives due to the catastrophic situation in the health sector, in addition to the huge depletion of health teams as a result of this brutal Zionist aggression against all health and humanitarian sectors,” a spokesperson from the ministry said.
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