• Tue. Mar 19th, 2024

Death and Destruction in Gaza Rises as Israel Ignores Calls for Truce

May 18, 2021

On Thursday, various fighter jets from the State of Israel carried on pounding the entire Gaza Strip, which led to the killing of at least a single Palestinian and injured several. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of the country, Benjamin Netanyahu, has continued to defy the calls for de-escalation in the attacks, and consequently, a truce. 

Up until now, around 230 citizens from Palestine, which includes 65 children, have lost their lives, ever since the attacks began 11 days ago. 12 people have also died in the State of Israel, as a result of the rockets fired by Hamas. 

Just a day earlier, the President of the United States, Joe Biden, had been discussing the events in Gaza. While talking, he added that he hoped that the leader of the Jewish state would now move towards a considerable de-escalation and on the path of a ceasefire. 

However, just hours after Biden’s call for truce, Netanyahu gave a statement saying that his government is not going to back down. According to him, the country will continue to bombard Gaza, until Israel’s objective is met. 

The efforts being made by the Security Council of the UN are still being stalled and no agreement has been reached between the leaders of Gaza’s Hamas and Israel. The US, on the other hand, has decided to continue to veto action on the conflict. 

The Human Rights Council of the UN has decided that it will be holding a special session on the 27th of May to address the issue of a grave violation of human rights that is currently occurring in Occupied Palestine, as well as East Jerusalem. 

A request had been submitted jointly by the State of Palestine and Pakistan, which is the Coordinator of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, to convene this special session of the UN. 

Meanwhile, the sovereign wealth fund of Norway, which happens to be the largest in the world, has made a decision to cut ties with two companies that are involved in the construction of different Israeli settlements, located in the occupied West Bank. The wealth fund cited concerns regarding potential violations of human rights. 

The Central Bank of Norway stated that it will be divesting its holdings in the two Israeli companies, on account of the risk that they contribute to violations of rights in cases of conflict or war. These two corporations are Mivne Real Estate, which is responsible for renting out industrial premises located in the Palestinian territory taken over by Israel, and a home builder by the name Shapir Engineering Industry. 

In addition, the Government Media Office, situated in Gaza, reported that the material losses suffered by the country in the ongoing offensive of Israel amount to a figure of over $322 million. Nearly 184 residential towers, 33 media centers, and houses have been fully demolished. The loss value was estimated to be at $92 million. 

Over 1,335 housing units were seriously damaged or simply demolished, whereas 13,000 were only partially damaged. 

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