By Ken Afor
At least 50 Palestinians and a Hamas commander have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on densely populated refugee camps in the Gaza Strip, without food, fuel and basic supplies.
Israeli tanks were active in the Gaza Strip for at least four days after weeks of aerial bombardment in response to an attack by Palestinian militants Hamas on a town in southern Israel on October 7, more than 200 hostages were taken.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that the fighter jet attack on Jabalia, the largest refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, indicated that Hamas commander Ibrahim Biary was “very important” in planning and executing the attack.
IDF spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus said dozens of Hamas fighters were in the same underground tunnel complex as Biari and collapsed and died during the attack.
“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,” he added.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem denied the presence of senior commanders in the camp and called the claims an excuse for Israel to kill civilians.
Palestinian health authorities said at least 50 Palestinians were killed and more than 150 were injured.
Hamas said in a statement that 400 people were killed and wounded in Jabari, home to refugee families who have fought against Israel since 1948. Reuters could not independently verify the reported casualties.
The explosion created a huge crater surrounded by destroyed buildings. Israel has repeatedly warned Gaza residents to evacuate the northern region, and although many have left for the south, most remain there.
Israel has surrounded Gaza since the Hamas attack, and the UN and other aid workers say Gaza civilians are suffering a health disaster and hospitals are struggling to treat casualties due to power cuts.
Paltel, Gaza’s largest telecommunications company, said on Wednesday that telecommunications and internet services in the region had once again been completely disrupted.
In Washington, anti-war protesters raised their red hands to disrupt a congressional hearing on additional aid to Israel. They shouted slogans including, “Ceasefire now!” “Protect the children of Gaza!” and “Stop funding genocide.” Capitol police removed them from the room.
Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said generators at Gaza’s Al-Shifa medical complex and an Indonesian hospital would run out of fuel within hours.
He urged the owners of gas stations in the area to supply the two hospitals with fuel as soon as possible.
Dozens of corpses dressed in white lined up near an Indonesian hospital following the attack on Jabalia, images obtained by Reuters.
With medical supplies dwindling, power outages and hospital buildings shaking from airstrikes and shelling, surgeons in Gaza are working around the clock to save a steady stream of patients.
“”We take it an 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,” Dr. Mohammed al-Run said.
Iran-backed Hamas has told mediators it will release some foreign prisoners in the coming days, Abu Ubaida, a spokesman for the armed wing of the al-Qassam Brigades, said on the Telegram app on Tuesday. He did not provide additional information on the number of detainees and their nationalities.
Additionally, on Tuesday, the Israeli families of the victims of the October 7 attacks asked the International Criminal Court to investigate the killings and abductions. Israel is not a member of the Hague Court and refuses to recognize its jurisdiction.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the United States had made “real progress” in recent hours in negotiations to ensure the safe passage of Americans and other foreign nationals seeking to leave Gaza.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Israel on Friday to meet with administration officials before making other stops in the region, the Pentagon said.
Blinken said Tuesday that the United States and other countries are considering “a variety of possible permutations” for the future of Gaza if Hamas militants are ousted from power. Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas after several wars since the militants took over the Gaza Strip in 2007.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected international calls for a “humanitarian pause” in the fighting to allow emergency aid to civilians suffering from shortages of food, medicine, water and fuel.
The United States, Qatar and Egypt are working to open the Rafah border crossing into Egypt for people to travel.
Palestinian border authorities said Egyptian authorities would allow 81 Gaza residents seriously injured in weeks of shelling to enter Egypt on Wednesday to complete treatment.
