Kolkata: The death toll in Palestine amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war has surged past 55,000, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. While the ministry doesn’t differentiate between combatants and civilians, it has said that women and children constitute over half the dead, painting a grim picture.
Recently on June 7, Israel launched devastating airstrikes targeting the Sabra district in northern Gaza City. It resulted in the death of at least 15 Palestinians and 50 people were injured as missiles hit a residential buildings and other homes in the vicinity in Jabalia. According to local authorities, a total of 45 Palestinians were killed on that day.
According to witnesses, most of the victims were reportedly civilians, including children and the elderly. As per reports, the Israeli attack caused extensive damage and the common people tried to rescue those trapped under the rubble. The Israeli military warned Jabalia of more strikes as the airstrikes, which took place during Eid, plunged the local population into further misery with the people already facing shortages of food and water.
The misery of Palestinian children
Israel’s pounding of Gaza has cast a long shadow of misery over the children of Palestine, whose lives have been tarnished by the chaos of war. In a widely viral incident, Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations, revealed the scale of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza while making an emotional address.
Riyad’s speech to the UN Security Council on May 28 painted a grim picture of widespread suffering, loss, and despair. He shared the tragic story of Dr Alaa al-Najjar, a doctor in Palestine who had ten children, but she lost nine of them. She worked at a hospital where the bodies of her children, burned and lifeless, arrived. As per Mansour, the Israeli attacks have killed more than 1300 Palestinian children and have injured around 4000 children since the March ceasefire breakdown.
Israel detains Greta Thunberg
Israeli forces detained Greta Thunberg and other activists who were on board a boat carrying aid for Gazans. The aid consisted of items like baby formula, rice, and medical kits, highlighting the dire humanitarian situation in the region. Israel has maintained a tight naval blockade around Gaza, a region facing tremendous humanitarian crisis.
