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Civilians in Gaza indiscriminately targeted by Israeli bombs

Explosions above buildings in Gaza City. Photographer: Mahmud Hams/AFP

More than a week into the Israeli aggression against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, despite more and more civilians falling victim to such attacks, the US has approved the sale of $735 million of precision guided missiles to Israel.

This as the regime has been pushing ahead with its airstrikes and artillery attacks on different parts of the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, news has surfaced that the US has approved the sale of precision guided missiles to Israel, to the tune of $735 million.

The Israeli regime continued its airstrikes and artillery attacks on different parts of the Gaza Strip for more than one week after it began its aggression against the territory.

Israeli warplanes fired many missiles overnight into the different parts of the densely populated area.

So far more than 200 Gazans have been killed, scores of them, children.

More than 1200 People have also been injured, government buildings, factories residential areas and even media headquarters, have not been spared either.

In retaliation Palestinian resistance groups have launched rocket attacks on Israel.

The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigade, the military wing of Hamas, said its rockets successfully targeted Israeli settlements in Ashdod, injuring several people.

The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigade also hit the city of Nevatim, as well as a number of military bases.

An Israeli battleship was also targeted successfully by Palestinian rockets off the coast of the Gaza Strip.

The Islamic Jihad movement also said its military wing, The Al Quds Brigade, fired a barrage of rockets into the cities Rehovot, and Palmachim.

 So for 10 Israeli's have been killed and hundreds injured by Palestinian rocket fire. The continuation of the Israeli aggression comes as Palestinians have called for more concrete actions from the international community against Israel.

Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said mere condemnations are not enough anymore. He demanded the United Nations issue a resolution condemning Israeli atrocities against Palestinians. Shtayyeh said Israel's crimes have to be punished under international law.

The Israeli crimes against Palestinians which we are particularly seeing again in the current assault in Gaza represents a long pattern of what many have understood as crimes against humanity.

And it is a long pattern of Israeli policy that started with the Nakba, in 1948, to basically cleanse the land of Historic Palestine, of its indigenous inhabitants.

So I see the current assault on Gaza (as a) continuation of that policy, and I see it in the context of a very aggressive settler colonial enterprise.

Alice Rothschild, Author, ‘Broken Promises, Broken Dreams’

The Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip come as the regime enjoys unconditional support from its Western allies, namely, the United States and European governments.

US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, said the Palestinian Resistance Movement, Hamas, is to blame for the situation.

Blinken said he's sorry about the Palestinian loss of life, but insisted that Israel is entitled to defend itself.

Many construe Blinken's remarks as a green light for Israel to commit war crimes.

The West support for Israel has been implacably solid for decades, for a variety of reasons, because Israel plays an important part of foreign policy; it is the US representative in the Middle East. It's been framed as the bulwark against terrorism.

I think that that's starting to crack, as there are more voices of dissent, there are voices of dissent in the Congress, there's much more awareness on social media, so I'm hoping that we're beginning to see the end of that mountain of support and the recognition of Palestinian rights and their need for their human rights and their ability to live a life with dignity and safety and opportunity.

Alice Rothschild, Author, ‘Broken Promises, Broken Dreams’

Germany also supported Israel's attacks on Gaza while German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned Palestinian rocket attacks during a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and expressed solidarity with the regime.

The UN Security Council session on the Israeli-Palestinian escalation failed to bring Tel Aviv to account for its all out aggression.

But support for the regime in Tel Aviv by the west continues unabated despite Israel having an obligation under international law to provide for the protection, security and welfare of the people living under its occupation, it has so far failed to do so.

This highlights why the United States insists on what it calls the peace process between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

The Israeli Palestinian peace process died a long time ago. So, this is just another nail in the coffin. So I think that the peace process doesn't exist, and a peace process requires negotiations between parties that are equally respected, that the more powerful party has to recognize the trauma of the weaker party, there has to be apologies and reparations and much more understanding of the historical accuracy.

Alice Rothschild, Author, ‘Broken Promises, Broken Dreams’

Prominent human rights group, Amnesty International, has blasted Israel for bombing Gaza, stating that the attack must be investigated as a war crime.

In order to describe the pattern of Israel's collective punishment of Palestinians, Reporters Without Borders also slammed the deliberate bombing of a media building as a war crime, accusing Israel of trying to obstruct media coverage of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.

The US approval of weapons sales to Israel amounting to $735 million is yet again further proof of Western double standards regarding the issue of human rights.

Many observers, even in the West, believe that the Western governments, most notably the US, use the issue of human rights and democracy as leverage to advance their geopolitical agenda in different parts of the world, including in the Middle East.

Tel Aviv has now agreed to a ceasefire.

The ceasefire came into effect from 02:00 am on Friday (23:00 GMT on Thursday), the regime announced on Thursday.

"The Security Cabinet unanimously accepted the recommendation of all heads of security services, the chief of general staff, the head of Shin Bet (the regime’s internal security service), the head of the Mossad (the regime’s spy agency), and the head of the National Security Council to accept the Egyptian initiative on a bilateral ceasefire, which will come into force later," the statement said.

 


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