Over 55 children among 192 martyred as Israel launches heavy air strikes on Gaza

GAZA: The death toll from Israeli attacks on the blockaded Gaza Strip rose to 192, including 30 women and 56 children on Monday.

Israeli warplanes have continued airstrikes at several locations of Gaza city early morning with the death toll nearing 200 as country’s caretaker PM Benjamin Netanyahu said an end to hostilities was not imminent.

Israel’s bombardment of Gaza entered its eighth consecutive day after raids on Sunday killed at least 43 Palestinians, injured several others and flattened at least two residential buildings.

According to reports, Israeli fighter jets carried out at least 55 air raids early on Monday targeted several military and security bases in the Palestinian territory, as well as some empty land east of Gaza City.

Dozens of attacks were carried out, the Reuters news agency’s Gaza correspondent Nidal al-Mughrabi said on Twitter. The Israeli military confirmed on Twitter that it had launched attacks.

The air strikes are continuing, buildings shaking, doors cracking and I could hear children of my neighbours crying

— Nidal al-Mughrabi (@nidalal) May 16, 2021

Sunday was the deadliest day in Israel’s military offensive so far, with at least 42 Palestinians killed and dozens more wounded. Rescuers in Gaza are still hoping to pull survivors in Gaza City after an overnight Israeli bombing left dozens dead.

“We are still here at the  Al-Shifa Hospital just a very short while ago five more bodies were brought out of the El Wahda neighborhood, unfortunately, all of them dead,  rescuers said. They further said lack of resources for rescue crews was creating a “great challenge” to pull bodies from the rubble.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that an end to seven days of hostilities with Gaza fighters was not imminent, despite diplomatic moves to reestablish peace.

“Our campaign against the terrorist organizations is continuing with full force,” Netanyahu said in a televised speech. He said, “We are acting now, for as long as necessary, to restore calm and quiet to you, Israel’s citizens. It will take time.”

The United Nations Security Council met on Sunday to discuss the violence but failed to agree on even a joint statement of concern. Meanwhile, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in a joint statement called for an immediate halt to what it described as Israel’s barbaric attacks on Gaza and blamed “systematic crimes” against the Palestinians.

The OIC statement came after a virtual meeting in which Saudi Arabia condemned the violation of the sanctity of Muslim holy sites and evictions of Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem.

The 57-member body accused the United Nations Security Council of inertia. Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei issued a separate statement, tweeted by Malaysia’s premier, calling for an emergency U.N. General Assembly meeting.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates called for a ceasefire. The UAE and Bahrain had along with other Arab states last year broken a longstanding taboo in the region by establishing formal ties with Israel, with tacit approval from Gulf power Riyadh.

“De-escalation and the highest degree of restraint are important to avoid dragging the region to new levels of instability,” said UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation Reem al-Hashimy.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud opened the OIC meeting by urging the global community to end the escalation in violence and revive peace negotiations based on a two-state solution.

Turkish foreign ministry sources said Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called for an international protection mechanism for Palestinian civilians and told the OIC that Israel should be held accountable for war crimes and that the International Criminal Court could play a role.

His Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif urged the international community to start a “political and legislative” campaign against Israel, Iranian state media said.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has condemned Israel’s massacre in Gaza in strong words, urging the international community to take steps to end the massacre in Gaza being conducted by Israeli forces.

The foreign minister was addressing an emergency meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Sunday where Shah Mahmood Qureshi lambasted Israel for its tyrannical measures, which include bombing Gaza and killing scores of innocent children. 

Blaming the Israeli forces for killing unarmed Palestinians, the minister said it was up to the international community to take concrete measures to stop the bloodbath in Palestine.

He said, “Israel is violating human rights laws in Gaza, slammed the foreign minister. The attack on the Palestinians is a violation of international law as well,” FM Qureshi regretted. “Pakistan condemns Israel’s aggression in strong words, he said. Israel’s aggression in Gaza should stop instantly,” he demanded.