Hamas calls for UN action as Israel escalates brutal bombardment of Gaza
Hamas has urged the United Nations and the wider international community to intervene immediately to stop Israel’s genocide in Gaza, as the Israeli army escalated its brutal assaults on Gaza City and elsewhere in the enclave.
At least 73 Palestinians, including several aid seekers, were killed in relentless Israeli bombardments across Gaza on Wednesday, among them 43 in Gaza City alone.Entire families are being killed together in their tents and shelters as the Israeli forces are targeting densely populated areas in Gaza.
“My brother was killed, struck inside his room. They killed him with his wife and children; they erased them all. No one is left,” Sabreen al-Mabhuh, a displaced Palestinian, told Al Jazeera.
Israeli grenades have also ignited tents at schools sheltering displaced families in Sheikh Radwan, Reuters reported. “Sheikh Radwan is being burned upside-down,” resident Zakeya Sami said. “If the takeover of Gaza City isn’t stopped, we might die. We won’t forgive anyone who watches this and does nothing.”
Gaza’s media office says Israel has detonated at least 100 explosive-laden robots in Gaza City over the past three weeks to destroy entire residential blocks and neighbourhoods. About 1,100 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza City alone during Israel’s assault there since August 13.
Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City, described the situation as apocalyptic. “It feels endless and all-consuming … entire neighbourhoods are being erased block by block,” he said. “People are losing everything they’ve built over decades. For many, this feels like a living nightmare.”Hamas ready to accept a comprehensive ceasefire
In a statement on Wednesday, Hamas reiterated its readiness to accept a comprehensive Gaza ceasefire and release of all Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
The call came as Gaza’s Health Ministry reported six more deaths from “famine and malnutrition” in the past 24 hours, including a child. It said 367 Palestinians, 131 of them children, have died from hunger-related causes during Israel’s blockade, which continues to severely limit the entry of food and aid.
Hamas also slammed Israel for committing “horrific war crimes” with a strike on the al-Jarisi family home in northern Gaza City, which killed at least 10, calling it part of a systematic campaign to destroy Palestinian life.Growing global outrage
Israel has rejected Hamas’s latest offer to end the Gaza war. In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office reiterated Israel’s stance that “the war can end immediately on the conditions set by the cabinet”, which include the release of all the Israeli captives being held in Gaza and the disarmament of Hamas.
Hamas has agreed to ceasefire proposals presented by the mediators, but it has refused to disarm until the Palestinian state is established as part of the so-called two-state solution. Qatar, which has mediated in the conflict, said that Israel has yet to agree to its latest ceasefire proposal, which was accepted by Hamas last month.
