Israeli airstrikes kill 100 people in one of war’s deadliest nights, Gaza officials say

Israeli airstrikes killed 100 people in one of the war’s deadliest nights, Gaza officials say. At a burial that took place in Gaza on Monday, a line of Palestinians touched white shrouds that contained the remains of at least seventy individuals. Israeli bombing that targeted Maghazi, which is in the center of the troubled strip, is what killed these people, according to Palestinian health authorities.

The fighting that has been going on for eleven weeks between Israel and Hamas came after one of the worst nights in the enclave. A father hugged a dead kid, while others were inconsolable with laughter. Someone exclaimed, “The walls and the curtains fell on us,” and he was right. “I reached down to my four-year-old child, but all I found were rocks.”

Some strikes started a few hours before midnight and continued into Monday. According to Palestinian media, Israel increased the amount of air and ground fire in the central region of Gaza.

Ashraf Al-Qidra, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health, stated that a significant number of people being murdered in Maghazi were females and children. Israeli planes and tanks carried out dozens of airstrikes on buildings and roads in the neighboring towns of al-Bureij and al-Nusseirat, according to health officials. These attacks resulted in the deaths of eight additional people.

An Israeli attack on Khan Younis, which is located in southern Gaza, resulted in the deaths of 23 Palestinians, raising the total number of Palestinians who died overnight to more than 100.

Pope Francis stated in his Christmas message on Monday that children who are dying in conflicts, particularly in Gaza, are the “little Jesuses of today” and that Israeli strikes are reaping an “appalling harvest” of innocent people. He also stated that his message was delivered on Christmas. To celebrate Christmas, a portion of Gaza’s very modest Christian population took a break from the ongoing fighting and hardship.

Residents of Bureij have become homeless as a result of their decision to leave their houses, and some of them have taken to social media to appeal for people to provide them with refuge. Sixty people resided in my home and arrived there under the impression that the central Gaza region was secure. At this time, we are looking for a location to relocate to,” said Odeh, who lives in one of the refugee camps.

The Israeli army stated that it was evaluating the report of an event that occurred in Maghazi and that it was dedicated to minimizing the amount of harm that was caused to civilians. The Israeli government asserts that Hamas operates in densely populated regions and uses people as human shields, although Hamas refutes these allegations.

The Palestinian Red Crescent publicized that footage of injured Palestinian citizens being carried to hospitals was shown. According to the report, Israeli jets were involved in hitting essential routes, which made it difficult for ambulances and other emergency vehicles to travel.

In his “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and globe) message that he delivered on Christmas Day, Pope Francis referred to the attack that Hamas terrorists carried out on Israel on October 7 as “abominable” and once more made a plea for the release of over one hundred captives who are now being held in Gaza.

Christian tradition holds that Jesus was born in a stable two thousand years ago in Bethlehem, which is located on the West Bank and occupied by Israel. Church officials decided to suspend celebrations in Bethlehem.

As an alternative to the customary celebrations, Palestinian Christians organized a Christmas vigil in Bethlehem with songs and prayers for peace in Gaza. Candles lit the vigil.

There was no vast tree, often the focal point of Bethlehem’s Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations. To show sympathy with the people of Gaza, nativity miniatures were put in churches amidst the ruins and barbed wire after the conflict in Gaza.

CONDITIONS THAT ARE CATASTROPHIC

According to reports, Islamic Jihad and Hamas are holding more than one hundred hostages. This minor terrorist organization is allied with Hamas and is committed to the destruction of Israel. They are among the 240 captives that they grabbed during their rampage across Israeli cities on October 7, during which they massacred 1,200 people.

More than 20,400 individuals have been proven to have been murdered, according to officials in Gaza, where Hamas runs, and many more are feared to be dead under the debris. Since then, Israel has encircled the narrow Gaza Strip and laid most of it to waste. These deaths have been documented.

It is estimated that the majority of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people have been forced to flee their homes, and the United Nations has described the situation as being catastrophic.

The combat on the ground has only worsened since the collapse of a week-long truce at the beginning of the month. The conflict has stretched from the north to the whole length of the heavily populated strip and has spread from the north to the south.

The Israeli military said on Monday that two of its troops had passed away the previous day, increasing the total number of soldiers who had been killed since the beginning of combat operations on October 20 to 158.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, had acknowledged the “heavy cost” the day before. Still, he stated that there was “no choice” but to continue the assault deeper into Gaza until Hamas was defeated “totally.”

The United States, Israel’s most trusted friend, has been exerting pressure on Israel to limit the number of civilian casualties and transition its operations to a phase with a decrease in intensity.

Israel’s military chief of staff announced on Saturday that his troops had mainly secured operational control in the northern part of Gaza and that they would push their operations as far as they could in the southern part of the territory.

However, locals claim that the violence has only become more intense in the northern areas.

Even though Washington classified the conversations that took place last week as “very serious,” diplomatic attempts to negotiate a fresh ceasefire to rescue the remaining captives held in Gaza have not resulted in any visible progress. Egypt and Qatar have mediated these efforts.

Israeli officials told Reuters that Netanyahu was scheduled for a legislative discussion on Monday. Then, shortly after that, he was scheduled to call a session of his war cabinet.

According to the organization, Ziad al-Nakhlala’s exiled Islamic Jihad team was present in Cairo on Sunday. Ismail Haniyeh, the chairman of Hamas, attended discussions that took place in recent days before his appearance.

The terrorist organizations have stated that they are not prepared to negotiate any release of captives unless Israel ceases its assault in Gaza. On the other hand, the Israelis have stated that they are only willing to discuss a halt to the continuing combat.