al jazeeraResidents of Gaza City tell the Reuters news agency that fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters was comparable to the fiercest battle of the war so far, leaving the Shujayea neighbourhood destroyed as civil defence teams work to recover bodies from the ruins.
A civil defence spokesperson says more than 85 percent of Shujayea’s buildings are now uninhabitable and more than 120,000 residents have been made homeless in the area, while Israeli attacks across the Strip on Thursday killed at least 26 people.
With a day of ceasefire talks ending without agreement, Hamas accused Israel of “stalling to buy time to foil the current round of negotiations”, while White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said there are “still miles to go before we close – if we are able to close” a deal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists that he backs the Gaza ceasefire framework, but accused Hamas of making demands that contradict it while also reiterating that the fighting will not stop until Hamas is defeated.
At least 38,345 people have been killed and 88,295 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 is estimated at 1,139, and dozens of people are still held captive in Gaza.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the West must “respond vigorously” to accusation of “double standards” when it came to Israel’s war on Gaza, the Associated Press news agency reports.
“We are sometimes criticised for being far less concerned about Gaza than about Ukraine, and this criticism is deeply damaging to us all,” Macron told reporters at a NATO summit in Washington.
“We must show that it is unfounded. I repeat here that it is urgent to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, to free the hostages and to put in place the de-escalation that is essential to prevent the war spreading to Lebanon,” he said.
The Israeli military has announced that a reservist has been killed following a drone attack near the northern Israeli community of Kibbutz Kabri.
The 33-year-old, a member of the 228th Brigade, was injured when explosive-laden Hezbollah drones flew over from southern Lebanon and attacked Israeli military positions in the Western Galilee on Thursday.
The soldier was taken to hospital in critical condition and succumbed to his wounds shortly after.
The Israeli prime minister was interrupted by hecklers who chanted during a speech he gave at a military graduation ceremony in southern Israel where he promised to continue the war in Gaza.
“There are some who ask how long the campaign will last, and I answer in two words: Until victory. Until victory, even if it takes time,” Netanyahu said.
As he spoke, people in attendance began to chant “shame”, The Associated Press news agency reports.
During the same ceremony, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said a government investigation was needed into the nation’s leaders, including himself and Netanyahu, for security failures around the October 7 attack by Hamas on southern Israel.
Speaking at the NATO summit in Washington, DC, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has reiterated that Western countries “cannot and should not allow ourselves to be accused by anyone of having double standards in the defence of international law”.
“In this context, what Spain has done has been to demand for Ukraine, as well as for Gaza, the same manner and the same firmness in respecting international law,” he said.
On Wednesday, Sanchez said Western countries were guilty of “double standards” regarding their staunch defence of international law when it came to Russia’s war on Ukraine but not for Palestinians when it came to Israel’s war on Gaza, and he called for a “consistent political position”.
Mr.BadGuy
Publisher
Mr.BadGuy
Publisher
These soldiers are from a country whose president is a Jew Zelensky. Orthodox churches are also being destroyed in this country. Synagogues are not touched. Surprisingly, it turns out that Jews get along well with the Bandera Nazis.