Gaza takes stock after another Israeli bombing campaign
The 56-hour bombing campaign took the heaviest toll on children, who account for one third of the dead and nearly half of the injured.
Jerusalem24 – A ceasefire between the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Israel which was implemented shortly after 11.30pm Sunday night, after initial reports that airstrikes were still hitting Gaza and sirens sounding in Israeli towns surrounding Gaza, is still holding by Monday afternoon.
Both sides are claiming today to have achieved their objectives, although both “reserve the right” to resume hostilities if the conditions of the ceasefire are breached.
The crossings into the Gaza Strip were partially reopened by Israeli authorities at 9am on Monday morning for “humanitarian” purposes only. Much-needed fuel was reportedly allowed into the Strip, after Israeli authorities closed the crossings to incoming supplies Tuesday last week. The Palestinian Ministry of Health warned on Sunday that health services in Gaza faced a shutdown within 48 hours due to power cuts.
Doctors Without Borders has sent teams on the field in Gaza to assess the effects of Israeli airstrikes on the health system. They have also donated emergency medicines and essential supplies to operating theaters and emergency rooms in hospitals.
Over 1,750 residential units were partially damaged, 71 were left uninhabitable, and 18 were fully destroyed, leaving dozens of families homeless.
Civil defense crews are beginning the arduous task of clearing us the debris, and funerals are being held for the victims across the Strip.
On Monday, a 10-year-old girl succumbed to wounds sustained in an airstrike in Beit Hanoun on Saturday and a police officer died after being injured in a strike in Gaza City on Sunday night, bringing the total number of Palestinian casualties since Friday to 46 including 16 children. 360 people were also wounded including 151 children. The condition of 107 of the injured is currently described as moderate to severe.
A total of nine children and five adults, including the police officer, were killed in three separate unidentified strikes on the Strip shortly after 7pm on Sunday night. Sources in Gaza have said the strikes were the result of misfired Islamic Jihad rockets; other sources have said they were Israeli airstrikes. Jerusalem24 has so far been unable to independently verify these claims.
The Washington Post is investigating similar claims concerning a strike on Jabaliya on Saturday night which left four children dead. Despite initial reports from sources on the ground that a misfired Islamic Jihad rocket had hit the area, the Washington Post expressed doubt about those claims as well as Israeli claims that they did not hit Jabaliya on Saturday, as verified Israeli airstrikes targeted the same area the following morning.
The Israeli military initially published contradictory videos of what they claimed was the misfired rocket that hit Jabaliya.
