ISRAEL’S air force has delivered strikes on some 60 Hamas targets throughout the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, the press office of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Friday.
The IDF’s press service reported that among the targets were ‘military strongholds operated by terrorists’ as well as ‘terrorist facilities’ and armament depots.
Moreover, the Israeli ground forces continued with their operations in the area of the town of Rafah in the southern part of the Gaza Strip and over the past day, ‘during battles, air strikes, as well as tank and mortar fire’ in the area, they ‘destroyed dozens of terrorists’, the press office added.
Earlier on Friday, the Israeli military launched an operation near the town of Khan Younis in the southern part of the Palestinian enclave.
Israel is to send a delegation to talks on Gaza on August 15, the office of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
‘At the suggestion of the US and intermediaries, Israel will agree upon details of implementing a framework agreement on Gaza,’ Netanyahu’s office said.
Leaders of Egypt, Qatar, and the United States called on Israel and the Hamas movement to resume talks on the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on August 15 in Doha or Cairo, according to their joint statement made earlier.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would not agree to a deal releasing all of the hostages if it did not end Hamas’ control over Gaza.
‘No, I don’t think that,’ he said in an interview with Time. ‘We have to achieve both goals, achieve the release of all the hostages and win the war. And I believe it’s possible.’
At least 56 people have been killed and dozens injured in Israeli strikes across Gaza since Thursday morning, medical sources say.
WAFA news agency, citing local and medical sources, said at least 32 Palestinians had been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza City and Khan Younis.
Israeli airstrikes hit a cluster of houses in central Gaza’s al-Bureij camp, and the nearby al-Nuseirat camp. Nuseirat and Bureij are among the densely populated enclave’s eight historic camps.
Israeli aircraft also bombed a house in the heart of Gaza City in the north, while another airstrike hit the southern city of Khan Younis, according to medics.
Later on Thursday, 15 Palestinians were killed and 30 injured in Israeli bombings of two schools east of Gaza City, the territory’s Civil Emergency Service said in a statement.
Dozens of Palestinian families were seen fleeing the eastern neighbourhoods of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, as documented by activists and Palestinian media outlets.
This followed renewed forced displacement orders imposed by the Israeli military issued in anticipation of a possible military onslaught.
They were instructed to head to the so-called humanitarian zone in al-Mawasi, which has previously been subject to deadly Israeli attacks.
Central and southern parts of Gaza remain the focal points of the Israeli bombing and shelling campaign in recent days.
Nearly 39,700 Palestinians have been killed and over 91,000 wounded since the regime launched its genocidal war on Gaza in October last year. Most of the victims are women and children.
Now is the time when the UK trade unions must take a stand and call a general strike in support of the Palestinian people and make a call for all trade unions worldwide to join it..
The TUC must see to it that no UK arms are sent to Israel for use against the Palestinians.
In fact the trade unions must tell the UK Labour government that it must arm the Palestinians and see to it that the State of Palestine is established this year, with its capital Jerusalem and with all Palestinians having the right to return!
