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 increasing 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 French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release on Tuesday, July 16.

The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, for his part, informed two senior Israeli officials the day before of the “deep concern” of the United States after the recent deadly strikes, 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 48 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.

An initial report put the death toll at 44. “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 UNRWA school in 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 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 on Sunday evening that 15 people had died in a strike on a school housing displaced people in a Gaza City neighborhood, 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 said it had admitted 48 wounded following the 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.

Thirteen NGOs have warned, in an inventory published on Monday, about the “deterioration” of humanitarian aid access 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 “Israel’s systematic obstruction of aid 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 southern Gaza Strip, aid workers have faced 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”.