The latest reports say that at least 50 Palestinians including a Hammas leader were martyred in the attack.
GAZA/JERUSALEM : (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-Nov 1st, 2023) No internet and phone service is there in Gaza strip after the Israeli airstrike struck densely populated refugee camp.
At least 50 Palestinians including a Hammas leader were martyred in the attack. The medics struggled to provide treatment to the casualties, even setting up operating rooms in hospital corridors.
Israeli tanks have been active in Gaza for a duration of at least four days following weeks of air bombardments. These actions were in retaliation for an attack by Palestinian Hamas militants on mostly Israeli civilians on October 7 and the taking of more than 200 hostages.
An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) statement confirmed that fighter jets carried out the strike on Jabalia, Gaza's largest refugee camp, which resulted in the death of Ibrahim Biari.
IDF spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus described Biari as a significant figure involved in the planning and execution of the October 7 attack against Israel from the northeastern parts of the Gaza Strip.
Dozens of Hamas combatants were in the same underground tunnel complex as Biari and were also killed when it collapsed during the attack, according to Conricus.
Conricus stated, "I understand that is also the reason why there are many reports of collateral damage and non-combatant casualties. We're looking into those as well."
Palestinian health officials reported that at least 50 Palestinians were killed in the refugee camp, with 150 wounded. Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem denied any senior commander's presence at the site and called the claim an Israeli pretext for killing civilians.
A Hamas statement claimed there were 400 dead and injured in Jabalia, which houses families of refugees from wars with Israel dating back to 1948. Independent verification of the reported casualty figures was not available.
The airstrike resulted in large craters surrounded by wrecked concrete buildings. Israel had issued repeated warnings to Gaza residents to evacuate northern areas, and while many complied by moving south, many others remained.
A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS ENGULFS GAZA
Ashraf Al-Qidra, spokesperson for the health ministry in Gaza, warned that power generators at the al Shifa Medical complex and the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza would cease functioning in a matter of hours. He called on owners of petrol stations in the enclave to urgently provide fuel to these hospitals if possible.
In Washington, a group of anti-war protesters disrupted a hearing in Congress on providing more aid to Israel. They raised red-stained hands and shouted slogans, including "Ceasefire now!" "Protect the children of Gaza!" and "Stop funding genocide." Capitol police removed them from the room.
U.N. and other aid officials voiced concerns about a public health catastrophe engulfing civilians in the besieged Palestinian enclave. Hospitals were struggling to treat casualties as electricity supplies dwindled.
After the attack on Jabalia, footage obtained by our sources showed dozens of bodies shrouded in white, lined up against the side of the Indonesian Hospital.
With limited supplies of medicines, frequent power cuts, and the constant threat of air or artillery strikes shaking hospital buildings, surgeons in Gaza were working around the clock to save a steady stream of patients.
"I take it one hour at a time because we don't know when we will be receiving patients. Several times we've had to set up surgical spaces in the corridors and even sometimes in the hospital waiting areas," said Dr. Mohammed al-Run.
Hamas, backed by Iran, informed mediators of its intention to release some foreign captives in the coming days, according to Abu Ubaida, the spokesperson of the group's armed wing, al-Qassam Brigades. However, he provided no further details regarding the number of captives or their nationalities.
Meanwhile, Israeli families of victims of the October 7 attack appealed to the International Criminal Court on Tuesday to initiate an investigation into the killings and abductions. Israel, not being a member of the Hague-based court, refuses to recognize its jurisdiction.
"PROGRESS" ON SAFE PASSAGE FOR FOREIGNERS
The United States reported making "real progress" in recent hours in negotiations to secure a safe passage for Americans and other foreign nationals wishing to leave Gaza, as stated by U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to visit Israel on Friday for meetings with members of the government and make additional stops in the region, according to the department.
The U.S., Qatar, and Egypt have been working to open the Rafah crossing into Egypt to allow people to come and go.
The Palestinian border authority announced that Egyptian authorities would permit 81 severely wounded Gazans who had been victims of weeks of bombardment to enter Egypt on Wednesday for further medical treatment.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed international calls for a "humanitarian pause" in the fighting to enable emergency aid deliveries to civilians suffering from critical shortages of food, medicine, drinking water, and fuel. Netanyahu reaffirmed his commitment to press ahead with plans to confront Hamas, following several inconclusive wars dating back to the militant group's 2007 takeover of Gaza.
