The Palestinian liberation group Hamas has pledged to meet Israel with “full force” as Israeli occupying forces maintained a barrage of airstrikes on Gaza, following an exceptionally intense Friday night bombing. Hamas, the Palestinian liberation group, has declared its determination to confront Israel with ‘maximum strength’ in response to continuous Israeli airstrikes on Gaza. These airstrikes followed a Friday night bombing campaign of an unprecedented scale. Previously, the country had only undertaken brief incursions into Gaza during the three weeks of bombardment to target Hamas armed members.
Gaza’s healthcare system teeters on the edge of collapse due to Israel’s comprehensive blockade of the region. Israel has restricted the entry of essential supplies, including food and medicine, and has severed access to water and electricity. The Gaza Health Ministry has released a report, documenting over 7,000 deaths in Gaza since 7 October. An additional 281 bodies remain unidentified.
It’s important to highlight that this significant loss of Palestinian civilian lives occurred before Gaza plunged into darkness on the early morning of 28 October, following Israel’s disruption of internet and communication services, isolating the territory’s residents from the outside world.
There’s no safe place in Gaza
Israel issued evacuation orders to Gaza residents in the southern areas earlier this month, but the International Committee of the Red Cross, responsible for upholding the laws of war, declared these orders as unlawful. UN Secretary-General António Guterres also criticized the evacuation order, deeming it “extremely dangerous” and potentially unfeasible. Nevertheless, numerous reports from journalists in the field painted a grim picture of civilians in the south being targeted by air strikes.
Witnesses reported that a bustling marketplace in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza was devastated by yet another strike. Survivors in Gaza City recounted a tragic incident where at least 19 individuals lost their lives when an airstrike struck the Bahloul family’s residence. Workers were seen tirelessly digging through the debris, including dirt, concrete, and rebar, as the legs of a deceased woman and another individual, both partially buried, hung out from the wreckage.
Mahmud Bassal, the spokesperson for Gaza Civil Defence, reported on Saturday, October 28th, that hundreds of buildings and homes lay in ruins, with thousands of other residences suffering varying degrees of damage. He said- “The intense bombardment had ‘changed the landscape’ of northern Gaza.”
The Gaza Ministry of Public Works reported that by October 21, 2023, a total of 15,749 housing units had been destroyed, and 10,935 were no longer habitable. He also said the death toll in Gaza reached 7,703 on Saturday, with 19,734 people sustaining injuries.
Critics, including aid and human rights groups, have increased their condemnation of Israeli bombings and evacuation orders in Gaza. While Israeli officials acknowledge striking residential buildings and mosques and causing harm to noncombatants, they argue that their targets are Hamas officials, weapons caches, tunnels, and safe houses, which are often closely intertwined with civilian infrastructure in Gaza.
The rising count of Palestinian civilian fatalities
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 24 journalists were killed by October 26, and numerous family members of both deceased and living journalists have also been killed. In addition, media institutions have been targeted and destroyed, as reported by the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate.
A staff of Doctors Without Border told- “One of my colleagues today in Gaza said the whole world is watching us getting massacred on TV and just silently watching. This is also reflective of a particular type of psychological trauma of feeling completely isolated and feeling like the world is voluntarily silent to your pain and suffering.”
Bangladesh Votes in Favor of UN Gaza Truce
After the Security Council’s lack of progress, Bangladesh stood in favor of the UN General Assembly resolution on Saturday, which urged a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. “In her statement delivered in the high level 78th UNGA, she strongly urged the international community to work together to realize the rights of the people of Palestine and reiterated Bangladesh’s unflinching commitment to the inalienable rights of the people of Palestine,” Muhammad Abdul Muhith, the Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations (UN) in New York mentioned that he was following the prime minister’s guidance in favor of the resolution.
Over the past 20 days, the Security Council has seen the introduction of several proposals, but none of them managed to gain approval. It wasn’t until Friday, during the reconvened 10th Emergency Special Session of the UN General Assembly, that a resolution for a humanitarian truce was finally adopted. The voting resulted in 121 countries in favor, 14 against including Israel and USA, and 45 abstentions.
The primary emphasis of the UNGA resolution revolved around three key objectives: an immediate ceasefire, the continuous and unimpeded delivery of essential goods and services to civilians in the Gaza Strip, and safeguarding the well-being of civilians, civilian assets, humanitarian personnel, and individuals hors de combat.
In conclusion, the resolution pressed for the revocation of Israel’s order in its capacity as the occupying Power and resolutely opposed any attempts to forcefully displace the Palestinian civilian population. It called for the immediate and unconditional release of all unlawfully detained civilians and underscored the two-State solution as the foundational principle for a just and enduring resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
