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Israel war on Gaza: Day 31

It is now the 31st day since Israel launched a war on Gaza. The besieged Palestinian territory is under back-to-back airstrikes and shelling, which are wreaking devastation and pushing the civilian death toll further. The Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, says the Israeli military carried out intense bombings on Sunday evening around several hospitals in northern Gaza. According to Hamas, the vicinity of Al-Shifa hospital witnessed heavy aerial strikes. Dozens were also killed in separate strikes on a residential area near the Gaza Port. Twenty of the victims there were from the same family. Since the beginning of Israel’s onslaught on Gaza, there have been multiple reports showing the regime’s use of internationally banned white phosphorus bombs on civilians. The war is coupled with the regime’s crippling blockade, which is worsening the humanitarian situation. Israel has even refused to allow injured Palestinians to be evacuated and moved to Egypt for treatment. In response, Hamas suspended the evacuation of foreign passport holders to Egypt for a second day in a row on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Israeli military is pressing ahead with its ground invasion. It claims that the land assault has split the Palestinian territory in two parts. The total death toll from Israel’s war on Gaza is now over 9,700, most of them women and children.

'Biggest genocide of century'

The Iranian president calls the Israeli regime’s heinous crimes and massacre of nearly ten thousand Palestinians the biggest genocide of the century. Ebrahim Raeisi underscored the plight of the Palestinian people in a phone conversation with leader of the Catholic Church Pope Francis. He said Israel’s brutalities against innocent women and children in Gaza are a flagrant example of crimes against humanity. Raeisi added that the Israeli regime with its bombardment of Gaza is exercising apartheid not only against Palestinian Muslims, but also against other divine faiths. He noted that supporting the oppressed Palestinians, today, amounts to following the teachings of all Abrahamic religions, including Christianity. He called on Pope Francis to urge the Western states backing the Israeli regime to speed up efforts to stop the crimes against Palestinians.

Call to stop Israel war crimes

Iran’s foreign minister has urged the BRICS group of major emerging economies to intervene to stop the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza. In a letter to BRICS’ members, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian called for active, constructive and responsible intervention aimed at ending the crimes against humanity. He touched upon the significant role of the BRICS and other non-Western blocs such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, urging them to put the issue of Gaza on their immediate agendas. Amir-Abdollahian added that the occupation of Palestinian territories, massacre of people, and strikes on medical facilities are just parts of crimes being perpetrated by the Israeli regime against the people of Palestine.

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