The Palestinian authorities say that Israeli occupation is using internationally banned white phosphorus bombs against Palestine in Karama neighborhood in northern Gaza.
GAZA: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-Oct 11th, 2023) Palestine has leveled allegations against Israel, claiming the use of white phosphorus bombs against civilians in Gaza's Karama neighborhood. The accusations came as Israel pledged to intensify its response to Hamas with a ground offensive.
In a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter), the Palestinian Foreign Ministry asserted, "The Israeli occupation is using internationally banned white phosphorus bombs against the Palestinians in the Karama neighborhood in northern Gaza."
Rami Abdo, the founder of the European Observatory for Human Rights, posted a video on X, indicating Israel's use of phosphorus bombs. He stated, "Israeli military forces are using toxic white phosphorus [bombs] on densely populated areas northwest of Gaza City."
Human Rights Watch, a New York-based rights organization, had previously cited reports of Israel employing white phosphorus bombs in Gaza during prior conflicts.
The utilization of white phosphorus for creating smokescreens and covering troop movements is legally accepted, but its use in densely populated areas is strictly prohibited by the 1980 Geneva Convention.
Israel has not yet commented on these allegations.
The Israeli military reported launching more than 200 airstrikes overnight in a Gaza City neighborhood it claimed Hamas had used to launch a series of attacks. According to Gaza's health ministry, the conflict has resulted in at least 900 casualties and left 4,600 people wounded in the densely populated coastal enclave.
The weekend saw a significant escalation when Hamas fighters from Gaza conducted a deadly attack in southern Israel, marking the deadliest Palestinian assault in Israel's history, with the death toll reportedly reaching 1,200.
The victims of the attack were predominantly civilians, many of whom were targeted in homes, streets, or at an outdoor gathering. Additionally, several Israelis and foreigners were captured and taken to Gaza as hostages.
Hamas asserted that the attack was a response to Israeli provocations at the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem and heightened settler violence.
The conflict has forced over 260,000 people to flee their homes in the Gaza Strip, as Israeli bombardments from air, land, and sea continue to impact the Palestinian territory. The United Nations reported that approximately 263,934 people in Gaza have been displaced, and this number is expected to rise.
More than 175,500 individuals sought refuge in 88 schools managed by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), while another 14,500 displaced persons found shelter in 12 government schools. Around 74,000 people are estimated to be staying with relatives, neighbors, or seeking shelter in churches and other facilities.
This displacement represents the highest number of people displaced in Gaza since the 50-day escalation of hostilities in 2014, according to the UN.
The Israeli blockade has further exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, limiting access to essential supplies such as food, water, fuel, and electricity. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that this blockade would worsen the already dire humanitarian situation.
In another development, reports from Israeli media indicated an airstrike on the home of relatives of Mohammad Deif, the Hamas military commander, in Khan Younis, Gaza. The attack reportedly resulted in the death of Deif's father, brother, son, and brother's granddaughter.
US President Joe Biden confirmed on Tuesday that at least 14 Americans were killed in the conflict, with others missing. The US has deployed an aircraft carrier and warships to the eastern Mediterranean to deter an escalation of the conflict and is providing intelligence support to Israel. Family members of Americans believed to be held in Gaza have called on the Biden administration to ensure their safe return.
The conflict has also affected citizens from other countries, including Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Ireland, Mexico, Nepal, Panama, Paraguay, Russia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Ukraine, with reports of their citizens being killed, abducted, or missing.
Hamas currently holds around 150 captives, including children, the elderly, and young people who were captured during a music festival where around 270 people lost their lives.
In a concerning development, Hamas has threatened to start executing hostages each time Israel strikes a civilian target in Gaza without prior warning. French President Emmanuel Macron has labeled this threat as "unacceptable blackmail."
Fear and chaos have gripped the 2.3 million Palestinians residing in Gaza as they endure relentless Israeli airstrikes.
The Israeli military has announced the deaths of two senior Hamas figures, Zakaria Muammar and Jawad Abu Shamala. The conflict has also claimed the lives of four Palestinian journalists in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City.
The European Union, among other nations, has called on Israel not to cut essential supplies to Gaza and has advocated for the establishment of humanitarian corridors for those seeking refuge.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk stressed that such blockades are prohibited under international humanitarian law.
Medical supplies, including oxygen, are running low at Gaza's overwhelmed Al-Shifa hospital, according to Dr. Mohammed Ghonim, who works in the emergency room.
Israel is currently grappling with a significant and unprecedented ground, air, and sea assault by Hamas, which initiated the conflict with thousands of rocket attacks, drawing comparisons to the 9/11 attacks on the United States.
In the aftermath, Israeli soldiers stationed along the technologically advanced security barrier surrounding Gaza revealed that the attack commenced with efforts to disable observation cameras and communication systems.
For the first time since the Hamas attack, Israel faces the potential of a multi-front war, with three days of clashes occurring on the northern border with Lebanon. An exchange of fire occurred between Israel and forces in Syria, following Israel's claim of munitions being fired towards the Golan Heights, which has been occupied since 1967.
In the southern Lebanese village of Khirbet Selm, mourners carried caskets draped in yellow Hezbollah flags, containing the bodies of two fighters reportedly killed in Israeli strikes. A third fighter was also reported killed by the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement.
On Tuesday, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades claimed to have launched a fresh round of rocket fire from southern Lebanon toward Israel, prompting retaliatory artillery fire from the Israeli army.
The situation has led to a state of war-like tension, particularly in northern Israel, near the Lebanese border, leaving citizens on edge.
Unrest has surged in the West Bank, where 15 Palestinians have been martyred since Saturday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for the formation of an "emergency government of national unity" as the nation grapples with internal divisions exacerbated by his administration's proposal for judicial reforms before the conflict united the country.
