JEDDAH: Amidst escalating violence and the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the city of Deir al-Balah suffered relentless Israeli airstrikes in the past few days, resulting in the deaths of numerous Palestinians. The majority of those affected were displaced individuals who had fled from the northern Gaza Strip, seeking refuge from the ongoing bombardment.
Concurrently, Israeli restrictions on aid convoys and dwindling supplies exacerbated the plight of civilians in Gaza, particularly in the northern and central regions.
According to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Observatory for Israel’s crimes against Palestinians, from February 20 to 26, 2024, approximately 690 Palestinians lost their lives in 64 separate massacres in Gaza, with an additional 8 fatalities reported in the West Bank. The number of injured people by Israeli forces during this period totaled around 1,057.
Highlighting the grim toll of the conflict, statistics from the Palestinian Ministry of Health revealed that between October 7, 2023, and February 25, 2024, an estimated 29,700 Palestinians had been killed. Shockingly, 70% of these fatalities were women and children, with nearly 7,950 women and 12,500 children among the victims. Moreover, approximately 69,800 individuals sustained injuries due to airstrikes, artillery shelling, and naval bombardment in densely populated civilian areas.
Tensions Rise in Jerusalem as Jewish Extremists Target Al-Aqsa Mosque
The OIC weekly report said that the humanitarian crisis deepened in Gaza as access to aid convoys was blocked by the occupation forces, exacerbating food scarcity and malnutrition. In addition to the suffering of the people of the Gaza Strip from killing, malnutrition that almost reaches the point of famine, and disease, the displaced people are crowded together in the city of Rafah – south of the Gaza Strip. They fear an imminent Israeli military invasion amid international warnings that this may lead to dozens of massacres against Palestinian civilians, most of whom are sleeping on the ground without shelter or food.
Meanwhile, tensions persisted in Jerusalem, with Jewish extremists conducting daily raids in the Al-Aqsa Mosque under Israeli military protection. Last Friday, Israeli authorities imposed stringent restrictions on Palestinian worshippers’ access to the mosque from various West Bank cities and villages.
In the West Bank, settler violence surged, reaching a peak with 40 reported attacks on Palestinian communities during the same period.
