33 Palestinians killed in offensives // Hamas reiterates it did not execute the six captives // US says it is time to sign a release agreement
▲ Palestinian civil defence personnel help extinguish the flames of a building bombed by Israel in northern Gaza.Afp Photo
Reuters, Afp, Ap, The Independent, Prensa Latina and Europa Press
The newspaper La Jornada
Wednesday, September 4, 2024, p. 26
Cairo. Israeli strikes have killed 33 Palestinians in Gaza in the past 24 hours in clashes with Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants in the north and south of the enclave. Meanwhile, amid brief pauses in the fighting, the third day of polio vaccinations continued in the central part of the strip.
In Gaza City, 15 people were killed, seven of them in a bombing of Namaa University, which the Israeli army said was used by terrorists Hamas of command and control centerEight were also killed. armed men near Al Ahli Arab Hospital, including Hamas commander Ahmed Fozi Nazer Muhammad Wadia, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported.
Wadia led the assault on the Israeli community of Netiv HaAsara on October 7 and He killed a father in front of his two children and was then filmed drinking a can of Coca-Colathe IDF assured.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) said it had exceeded its vaccination targets, reaching more than 161,000 children, a quarter of those under 10 in Gaza.
So far things are going wellsaid Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative for the occupied Palestinian territories. These humanitarian pauses work.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the pauses as a rare ray of hope and humanity in the cascade of horrorsaid its spokesman, Stephane Dujarric. If the parties can act to protect children from a deadly virus, surely they can and should act to protect children and all innocents from the horrors of war.he added.
For its part, the United States said that It’s time to finish an agreement for the release of hostages, and the UN described it as war crime the deaths of six hostages found in Gaza on Saturday.
We are horrified by reports that Palestinian armed groups carried out a summary execution of six Israeli hostages, which would constitute a war crime.stressed the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, who demanded a impartial investigation.
Hamas denies the version of execution of the captives released by Israel. Its spokesman, Osama Hamdan, said that the six people were killed in Israeli shelling, by Israeli gunfire, or during clashesand asserted that continuing with the attacks leads to the killing of prisoners instead of bringing them back.
Hamdam asked: Is the blood of six detainees better for the world than that of 50,000 Palestinians killed since October 7?
On December 15, Israeli soldiers admitted that they mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages during an operation in Gaza, despite the fact that they had waved a white flag and asked for help in Hebrew.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that With or without British weapons, Israel will winafter Britain suspended 30 of its 350 arms sales licenses to Tel Aviv.
The move was criticised by British Conservatives, who accuse the government of damage an important relationshipBut there are questions among Labour for not going even further, especially after Defence Secretary John Healey admitted that the suspension of licences would have little effect.
Former Israeli war cabinet members Gadi Eisenkot and Benny Gantz claimed that Netanyahu led Israel into a low pointand failed to achieve any of its war aims, demanding his resignation and new elections.
U.S. federal prosecutors have filed criminal charges against five Hamas leaders, including political leader Yahya Sinwar, for the killing of at least 43 of their compatriots in Israel on October 7.