Medical experts said 85 people were injured in the Israeli military’s attack on Friday. As the Palestinian news agency WAFA also reported, at least eleven people were killed in an attack on the Al-Maghazi refugee camp on Saturday.
In Jabalia, the death toll could rise as some people are still believed to be under the rubble, the Hamas-led government’s press office said. According to WAFA, children are also among the dead. There was initially no comment from the Israeli side on the information. More deaths are also feared in Al-Maghazi.
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Analysis: A small chance for peace in the Middle East
The Israeli military has been advancing on the town of Jabalia in the northeast of the Gaza Strip for two weeks. According to residents, Israeli tanks first advanced through suburbs and residential areas and finally into the center of the refugee camp. Dozens of houses are destroyed every day. According to earlier information from the Israeli military, it is taking action against Hamas fighters. It should be prevented that they could join forces to attack Israel again.
Leaflets with pictures of Sinwar
On Saturday afternoon, Israeli planes dropped leaflets with a picture of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar over the Gaza Strip. “Hamas will no longer rule Gaza,” the pages read in Arabic. “Whoever lays down his weapon and hands over the hostages can leave and live in peace,” it continues, residents of the city of Khan Younis report. The quotes are similar to statements made by Netanyahu on Thursday when he commented on Sinwar’s death.
Sinwar was considered the mastermind of the surprise attack on Israel a year ago. 1,200 people were killed and 250 were taken hostage. Israel then launched retaliatory strikes on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. According to Palestinian information, more than 42,000 Palestinians have died there since then. The coastal strip is largely destroyed.
“Alive and will survive”
Despite Sinwar’s death, the radical Islamic Palestinian organization Hamas remains “alive and will survive,” according to Iran’s supreme spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The loss was painful for the front of resistance against Israel, “but it will by no means stop with Sinwar’s martyrdom,” Khamenei said on Saturday.
