As Israel continues to bombard Gaza with air strikes, the death toll increases to 29, including six children.
On Sunday, the death toll from the rising violence in Gaza rose to 29, along with the killing of a senior commander of a Palestinian armed organisation, as Israel continued its bombardment of the area for the second day in a row.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement (PIJ) reported today in a statement that one of its senior military commanders was killed in an Israeli air strike on Gaza.
“Al-Quds Brigades (Jerusalem Brigades) mourns the martyrdom of its leader Khaled Mansour, member of the security council and commander of the Gaza Strip’s southern sector (on Saturday),” the group stated in a statement.
The group’s armed component is known as the Al-Quds Brigades.Meanwhile, an updated tally from Hamas-run Gaza stated six children were among those killed since the start of the “Israeli attack” on Friday, with 204 people injured.
However, Israel stated that it had “irrefutable” evidence that a stray rocket fired by terrorists was responsible for the deaths of multiple children in Jabalia, northern Gaza, on Saturday.
It was unclear how many children were slain in the Jabalia incident.Six deaths were discovered by an AFP photographer at a nearby hospital, including three youngsters.
The Israeli military has warned that its aerial and artillery campaign against the Palestinian armed group might last a week, while Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has claimed Cairo is engaging with both parties “around the clock” to reduce the carnage.
Following days of tensions along the border with Gaza, Israel stated it was necessary to execute a “pre-emptive” strike against the group because it was planning an impending attack.
Meanwhile, civilians on the Israeli side sought safety in air raid bunkers, with AFP journalists hearing sirens warning of incoming fire in the Tel Aviv area on Saturday evening.
Women and children were buried under rubble near Rafah, on Gaza’s border with Egypt, after an Israeli hit, according to the strip’s civil defence organisation.
The electricity distributor stated the single power station went down owing to a lack of fuel after Israel blocked its international gates.
The health ministry in Gaza warned that the next 72 hours will be “crucial and challenging,” and that the shortage of energy could lead to the suspension of important services.
Lynn Hastings, the UN humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, urged the warring parties to allow “fuel, food, and medical supplies” to be transported to Gaza amid the escalating situation.
The health ministry announced on Friday that “a five-year-old girl” was among those killed by Israeli fire.
Alaa Kaddum, the girl, had a pink bow in her hair and a wound on her forehead as her father carried her body to her funeral.
The Gaza strikes come after the arrest in the occupied West Bank of two prominent members of a Palestinian armed group, including Bassem al-Saadi, whom Israel blames for recent attacks.
Since mid-March, Israel has conducted a wave of frequently violent operations in the West Bank in response to suspected murderous attacks on Israelis.