GAZA: The civil defence agency in Gaza has reported that three consecutive air strikes by Israeli forces have resulted in the deaths of more than 40 Palestinians within one hour in the besieged Gaza Strip.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed serious concerns over the rising toll of civilian deaths in recent Israeli bombardments of Gaza, according to his spokesperson.
Israeli authorities confirmed conducting two of the strikes that the civil defence spokesperson, Mahmud Bassal, stated killed at least 44 Palestinians and injured several others.
The Gaza health ministry reported that at least 17 people were killed and 26 wounded in Israeli strike near a petrol station close to the southern city of Khan Younis. Additionally, the Palestinian Red Crescent reported five deaths at the UN-operated Al-Razi School in the Nuseirat refugee camp situated in central Gaza.
The third strike targeted a gathering of people near a roundabout in northern Gaza, as indicated by the civil defence agency, which did not provide a detailed breakdown of casualties.
Al-Mawasi, where more than 90 people were killed in a brutal Israeli bombing, has become a focal point of tragedy and widely criticized as a massacre. Following Israeli assurances of safety, tens of thousands sought refuge in a tent city in Al-Mawasi, only to face deadly bombardments.
Mohammed Zaqut, Gaza’s director general of hospitals, condemned the attacks, accusing Israeli forces of conducting massacres in densely populated areas like Al-Mawasi. He emphasized the devastating impact of even small-scale missile strikes, which result in large number civilian fatalities and injuries.
The targeting of schools has also intensified, with at least seven educational institutions coming under Israeli strikes in the past ten days alone.
Since October 7 last year, Gaza has been subjected to a relentless Israeli bombardment campaign, resulting in the deaths of at least 38,713 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to figures from Gaza’s health ministry.
Meanwhile, residents reported that Israeli warplanes conducted strikes on central Gaza, and artillery fire targeted the southern parts of the besieged Palestinian territory. Medics stated that multiple bodies were retrieved from the rubble following the latest wave of Israeli bombings.
In Washington, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed concern over the high civilian casualties during meetings with Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi. Blinken emphasized that the number of civilian casualties remains “unacceptably high.”
“We continue to see far too many civilians killed in this conflict,” stated Matthew Miller, a spokesperson for Blinken, after the meeting. The US has been pushing for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh announced on Sunday that the Palestinian group was withdrawing from indirect talks aimed at negotiating a truce, due to recent Israeli “massacres”, including a massive strike on Sunday that the health ministry in Gaza said killed at least 92 civilians.
Haniyeh said Hamas stood ready to return to the indirect talks once Israel “demonstrates seriousness in reaching a ceasefire agreement and a prisoner exchange deal”.
After the latest deadly strikes, medics from the Palestinian Red Crescent said they recovered four bodies from a house outside the southern city of Khan Younis and another from Nuseirat camp in central Gaza.
The Israeli military has also rounded up scores of Gaza residents, who have made allegations of torture, rape and other abuses in Israeli custody.
Palestinian lawyer Khaled Mahajna said Monday that prisoners had recounted guards using “electric prods” on inmates’ bodies.
In the case of one prisoner, a “fire extinguisher tube was inserted into his buttocks and the fire extinguisher was turned on,” Mahajna said after visiting detained Palestinian journalists.
The lawyer said prisoners were handcuffed when they ate the meagre meals provided, while detainees reported widespread disease and untreated wounds.
Five Israeli human rights groups have gone to court over conditions at the Sde Teiman desert camp where Gazans are being held. Israeli officials insist they act within the bounds of international law.
Indirect talks on ending the devastating Israeli offensive have been brokered by Qatar and Egypt, with US support, but months of negotiations have failed to bring a breakthrough.
At the end of May, US President Joe Biden outlined a ceasefire roadmap he said had been drawn up by Israel that triggered an intensification of the talks.
But despite meetings in both Cairo and Doha, there has been no sign of progress on how the roadmap might be implemented.
Critics in Israel, including tens of thousands of demonstrators who have marched to demand a deal to bring home the hostages, have accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of prolonging the war.
The ongoing Israeli bombardment campaign has forced 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.4 million population to flee their homes. Many have sought refuge in UN-run schools, six of which have been hit by Israeli strikes since July 6.
“Why do they target us when we are innocent people,” asked Umm Mohammed al-Hasanat, who was sheltering with her family at a UN-run school in Nuseirat, which was among the six hit.
“We do not carry weapons but are just sitting and trying to find safety for ourselves and our children.”
