Israeli army increases bombings, international community warns of civilian casualties

French diplomacy on Tuesday denounced “the strikes of recent days” which “add to the catastrophic human toll”, citing around a hundred deaths. For Washington, the number of victims among Palestinian civilians is “unacceptable”.

The Israeli army continues and intensifies its operations in the Gaza Strip. The maneuvers are multiplying and the number of civilian victims has continued to increase in recent days. “The strikes of recent days, which have left nearly a hundred dead, add to the catastrophic human toll among the Palestinian civilian population of Gaza.”reacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release on Tuesday, July 16.

The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, informed two senior Israeli officials the day before of the “deep concern” of the United States after the deadly strikes of the last few days, according to its spokesman. For Washington, the number of victims among Palestinian civilians is “unacceptable”.

The Gaza Civil Defense, a Hamas-affiliated organization, announced on Tuesday that 44 people had been killed in three separate Israeli strikes in the center, south and north of the small besieged Palestinian territory, including one on a school. “Three massacres took place in less than an hour against displaced people”said Mahmoud Bassal, spokesman for the Civil Defense in Gaza, in a statement also reporting “tens” of wounded, “including serious cases”.

The strikes took place near a gas station in Al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis, on a school run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), in the Nusseirat refugee camp (center) and near a roundabout in Beit Lahia (north of the enclave).

The Israeli army said in a statement that it had targeted “Terrorists using an UNRWA school in the Nousseirat region” And “a company leader” of Islamic Jihad “in the west of Khan Younis”. The IDF claims to have taken “numerous measures” to reduce the risk of hitting civilians in the strike on the school and once again accused Hamas of hiding behind the population and using them as a human shield, something the Islamist movement regularly denies.

The Civil Defense announced Sunday evening that 15 people were killed in a strike on a school housing displaced people in a neighborhood of Gaza City, the sixth school bombed in nine days in the territory. “France expresses its indignation following the Israeli strikes which targeted, on July 14 and 15, an UNRWA school and the Al-Maghazi camp, sheltering displaced persons”wrote the Quai d’Orsay.

According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, at least five people were killed in the strike on the Al-Razi school in Nusseirat (center), which housed “thousands of people displaced” by the war. Al-Awda hospital in Nousseirat announced that it had admitted 48 wounded following this strike.

Denouncing the “massacres” Israelis “against unarmed civilians”Hamas on Sunday withdrew from weeks-long ceasefire negotiations. The announcement came after the attack on the Al-Mawasi camp on Saturday, which left at least 92 people dead, according to the Palestinian Islamist movement.

In a report published on Monday, thirteen NGOs warned of the “deterioration” in access to humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. “These recent events are compounding the humanitarian catastrophe as NGOs continue to face obstacles imposed by ongoing Israeli military ground operations.”warns Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in particular, in a press release summarizing the status report drawn up by these organizations.

The 13 NGOs, including Oxfam, Care, Save the Children and Médecins du Monde, denounce “the systematic obstruction of aid by Israel and its attacks on aid operations”. According to them, less than half (53) of the 115 planned humanitarian missions were facilitated by Israel (46%).

Since the Israeli ground offensive in early May in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, humanitarian workers have been facing great difficulties in delivering aid. “The crossing points to the south are completely closed or logistically inaccessible due to the deteriorating security conditions”denounces MSF, according to which “tons of help absolutely needed” there are “blocked”.