Hamas confirms death of commander Rafa Salameh after bombing that left 90 victims
▲ An injured girl is treated after the bombing of the UNRWA refugee camp in Nuseirat.Afp Photo
AFP, Sputnik, AP and Reuters
The newspaper La Jornada
Monday, July 15, 2024, p. 26
Gaza. Israeli forces yesterday bombed a school in the Gaza Strip where displaced people were taking refuge in the war, for the fifth time in eight days, causing casualties, local residents said.
The attack took place against the Abu Araban campus, managed by the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), in the Nuseirat camp, which left At least 17 deadsaid Civil Defence spokesman Mahmud Basal, as confirmed by Al Jazeera.
For its part, the Israeli army indicated that its air force had bombed a number of terrorists operating in the area of the Abu Araban school building of UNRWA in Nuseirat.
According to the armed forces, the building It served as a hideout and base for carrying out attacks against Israeli troops..
For its part, Hamas confirmed yesterday the death of Rafa Salameh, commander of the Khan Yunis brigade, although it criticized Al Fatah – the main faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) – for buy into the false narratives of the occupationclaiming that leader Mohamed Deif had died in the displaced persons camp in Al Mawasi, as claimed by the Israeli army.
Hamas sources said the attack, carried out the day before yesterday, killed Salameh, and that his body was recovered and buried immediately.
Over the weekend, the Israeli army launched a massive bombardment of the Al Mawasi refugee camp in the southern Gaza province of Khan Yunis, claiming to be aiming to eliminate Salameh and Deif.
Yesterday, some survivors expressed anger that the attack on Deif occurred without warning and in a designated safe area. “I heard the first impact and my son came screaming ‘Daddy, daddy’ and took shelter with me,” said Mahmoud Abu Yaseen, who clung to his children. He later woke up in hospital to find that one of them had died.
A senior Palestinian official said yesterday that Mohamed Deif is fine despite the Israeli attempt to kill him, while Gazan health authorities reported that more than 90 people were killed in the attack.
Hamas political bureau official Izzat El-Reshiq said the Islamic resistance movement had not withdrawn from ceasefire talks following the weekend Israeli attacks on Gaza, after reports circulated that it had done so.
El-Reshiq also accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of trying to thwart efforts by Arab and US mediators to reach a ceasefire agreement.
Meanwhile, two Egyptian security sources present at the ceasefire talks in Doha and Cairo said the day before yesterday that negotiations had broken off after three days.
In Israel, the government has approved an extension of compulsory military service for men from 32 to 36 months, a move that must be approved by Congress, while a car attack at a bus stop near Lod left at least four soldiers injured.