Israel continues airstrikes on Gaza on Eid al-Fitr’s 1st day
JERUSALEM
On the first day of Muslims’ main festival, Eid al-Fitr, the Israeli army said on Wednesday that its forces carried out dozens of airstrikes on various parts of the Gaza Strip, which it has been at war with for the past over six months.
“Over the past 24 hours, warplanes and drones targeted dozens of objectives in different areas of Gaza Strip,” a statement released by the military said.
The statement claimed that the army’s strikes targeted “military sites, rocket launch platforms, and tunnel openings.”
It also mentioned “face-to-face clashes” with Palestinian fighters in central Gaza.
The Israeli army’s presence in Gaza is now limited to the Nahal Brigade stationed along the Netzarim axis that separates the north and south of the enclave, with the aim of preventing displaced Palestinians from returning to the north.
The Palestinian movement Hamas has yet to comment on the Israeli army’s statement.
Israel has waged a deadly military offensive against the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, which killed less than 1,200 people.
More than 33,300 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 76,000 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.
The Israeli war, now in day 186, has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in January issued an interim ruling that ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul
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