Israel and Gaza are on the verge of war again: rockets have been raining down on the Jewish state for more than 48 hours and the Star of David fighters continue to bomb the Palestinian enclave. The toll so far in the Strip is 56 dead, including 14 children, five women and an elderly person, and 335 injured. 7 people have died in Israel, including a six-year-old boy killed in Sderot, a father and teenage daughter shot to death near Lod and a 21-year-old soldier killed by an anti-tank guided missile while in a jeep with others. two fellow soldiers near the northern border of Gaza.
The Israeli Armed Forces (IDF) announced that they had inflicted a “severe blow” on Hamas, killing several senior officials who were part of the “General Staff” of the Islamic Movement. Among these, there are Bassem Issa, head of the Gaza City brigade since 2017, and the head of the missile development project Jumah Tahla, believed to be very close to the leader of the armed wing, Mohammed Deif. In addition to them, two other exponents of the rocket development and production project, Jamal Zibda and Hazem Khatib, were also killed. The Israeli premier, Benjamin Netanyahu, exulted, warning that “this is only the beginning”: “We will hit them with attacks that they never imagined”.
After the rain of rockets that fell last night and again in the night over Tel Aviv and other cities, the sirens continued to sound throughout the day in the South, in Be’er Sheva, Yavne, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Rahat, Ofakim and in communities close to the border with Gaza; missiles also arrived on Dimona, the headquarters of the Israeli nuclear power plant. Hamas claimed to have fired another 130 rockets at Israel in response to the destruction of the al-Shourouk tower, a ten-story building in Gaza City, the third so tall to be demolished since the operation began.
Give it United States, the head of diplomacy, Antony Blinken, announced the dispatch to the Hady Amr region, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Israeli and Palestinian Affairs of the US State Department, on a mission to seek de-escalation. Blinken said he was “very worried” about the situation that has arisen and urged the Jewish state to “do everything possible to avoid civilian casualties, even if it responds rightly in defense of its people”. Blinken overheard Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the phone, stressing the need for de-escalation. The White House has announced that the president, Joe Biden will appoint the American ambassador to Israel in the coming weeks. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is also “very worried”, as is Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, who “strongly asked” all parties “to” immediately undertake de-escalation measures and abide by the maxim moderation”.
Tensions continue to be recorded also in Lod, the scene of violence last night, so much so that reinforcement policemen have been sent and a state of emergency has been declared. The authorities also decreed a night curfew, from 8 to 4 in the morning, with a ban on leaving the house except in the event of a missile attack. Clashes between Arabs and Jews took place shortly before the restrictive measure came into force, to which the police reacted by throwing stun grenades; about twenty arrests. The Israeli president, Reuven Rivlin, also spoke on the situation in Lod, condemning the “pogroms” that took place in the city and “the riots across the country by an incited and bloodthirsty Arab crowd, which injures people,” it damages property and even attacks Jewish sacred sites “.
Appeals for calm came from Arab-Israeli leaders and parliamentarians: “The protests in the Arab community are developing in the most dangerous direction, and the popular protests have turned into violence and a head-on clash”, underlined the leader of Ra’am, Mansour Abbas, inviting “everyone to act in responsible manner and be disciplined, to follow the law and order “. Condemnation of “attacks on innocent civilians” was also expressed by the leader of the United Arab List, Aymen Odeh.