Thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets to protest against the government’s handling of the ongoing conflict and its failure to secure the return of hostages held in Gaza. The Associated Press reports that this recent surge in protests follows a significant demonstration that occurred a week prior, triggered by the discovery of six more deceased hostages in Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced mounting pressure from the United States and other allies to pursue a ceasefire deal. However, he has resisted calls for a truce, emphasizing that “no one will preach to me” and insisting on maintaining Israeli control over the Philadelphi corridor. This area, a narrow strip along Gaza’s border with Egypt, is contested by Israel as a key point for preventing Hamas from smuggling weapons, a claim which Egypt and Hamas deny.
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Deadly Air Raids Intensify in Gaza
The violence in Gaza has intensified, with Israeli air raids resulting in over a dozen fatalities. According to the Associated Press, the airstrikes have hit several locations within the Gaza Strip. In central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp, Al-Awda Hospital reported receiving the bodies of nine individuals killed in two separate air raids. One attack targeted a residential building, killing four and injuring at least ten others, while another strike on a house in western Nuseirat resulted in five deaths.
Additionally, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, the main medical facility in central Gaza, reported that a woman and her two children were killed in a strike on a house in the nearby Bureij refugee camp.
In northern Gaza, an airstrike targeted a school converted into a shelter for displaced individuals in Jabaliya, resulting in at least four deaths and approximately two dozen injuries, according to Gaza’s Civil Defense authority, which operates under Hamas control. Israel’s military stated that the strike was aimed at a Hamas command post situated within a former school compound.
Violence has also surged in the occupied West Bank, where a prolonged military operation in Jenin has resulted in numerous casualties.
Hezbollah Responds to Israeli Attack on Lebanese Civil Defense
Hezbollah has announced retaliatory rocket fire targeting the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona. This response came after Lebanon’s health ministry reported that an Israeli attack had killed three civil defense personnel in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah described the rocket attack as a reprisal for the Israeli strikes, specifically the incident that resulted in the deaths of the Lebanese emergency responders in the village of Froun.
The Lebanese health ministry stated that the Israeli attack targeted a civil defense team engaged in firefighting efforts, resulting in the death of three responders and injuries to two others, one critically. Lebanon’s Civil Defense confirmed that the personnel were killed in an Israeli strike on their firefighting vehicle after completing their mission.
