• Tue. Mar 19th, 2024

The Death Toll Rises in Gaza as Meeting of the UN Begins

May 14, 2021

No less than forty-two people have lost their lives due to the airstrikes fired by Israel on the city of Gaza. The conflict between the Israeli Army and Palestinian terror group Hamas has been going on for a total of seven days now. 

The health officials from Gaza reported that 10 children and 16 women were among the people who died due to the airstrikes. The Israeli IDF revealed that it is putting targets on the back of leaders, as well as infrastructure that is related to Hamas. 

On the afternoon of Sunday, Hamas launched an additional barrage of rockets at the southern areas of Israel. 

In the meantime, the UN Security Council convened its meeting. International mediators have taken to participate in the talks, hoping to negotiate a ceasefire. 

Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the UN, gave the opening statement at the meeting. He described the ongoing violence as appalling and asserted that all the fighting must be stopped right away. 

Ever since the attacks began, over 180 people have lost their lives in Gaza, which includes 33 women and 55 children. No less than 1,230 people have been injured, as per the statistics reported by the Health Ministry that is controlled by Hamas. Israel has also reported the deaths of dozens of Hamas terrorist militants.  

The violent clashes that started last week were a result of rising tensions between the Israel and Palestine. The two sides had been getting involved in skirmishes for the past few weeks in the area of East Jerusalem, which led to a flare-up at a site that is considered holy by both the Jews and the Muslims. 

Soon after these clashes began at the holy site, Hamas warned Israeli authorities to back off. When the tensions escalated, the group fired rockets at civilians in Israel, which also triggered retaliatory airstrikes on Hamas properties and rocket launchers. 

The airstrikes fired by Israel are being considered to be the deadliest attack that has occurred in the conflict up until now. The latest hit a busy street on Sunday, just after midnight. 

Day and night, rescue workers in Palestine have been searching for survivors and pulling out bodies of the deceased Militants and some civilians from the rubbles of nearly three buildings that have been completely destroyed. 

The Israeli military reported that it had attacked and successfully struck the homes of Yahya Sinwar and Muhammad Sinwar, the two brothers who lead the Hamas. The former is the leader of the group, whereas his brother is in charge of the manpower and logistics of the movement. 

Local sources also confirmed that the home of the leaders in the town of Khan Younis, located in Gaza, was in fact bombed. However, the fate of the Sinwar brothers is still unknown. It is unlikely that the two were at their residence when the strikes were fired. But there is no way of knowing for sure. 

Moreover, dozens of rockets were launched by Hamas on civilians in various parts of southern and central Israel, as well as Netivot, Ashdod, and Ashkelon. 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *