The current escalation of violence by Israel in Gaza has killed 29 Palestinians until this Sunday, after a new night of exchanges of fire. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, there are already 253 Palestinians injured in the enclave, including around a hundred children. The Israeli bombardments have aggravated the humanitarian crisis in the Strip, in which its more than two million inhabitants now suffer from electricity cuts and very limited basic services.
After a bloody day of violence on Saturday, the Israeli Army has continued to bombard the Strip during the night and early Sunday morning. One of the bombings killed Khaled Mansur, leader of the southern command of the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza and the second highest ranking official of the group killed since the beginning of hostilities after the death on Friday of Taysir al Jabari, who led the command. center and north. Israel claims that one of these attacks targeted a network of tunnels used by Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
Air-raid alarms continued to sound in Israeli communities bordering Gaza following more rocket fire by the Palestinian group, which is estimated to have fired more than 400 projectiles since the start of the escalation on Friday. So far no fatalities have been recorded in Israel, which accounts for 21 minor injuries.
Although Egypt has confirmed that it is trying to mediate between the parties, something that the United Nations is also trying to do, at the moment there are no signs of a possible ceasefire.
Gaza fuel crisis
In addition to the deaths and injuries, the Israeli bombardment of Gaza has further aggravated the humanitarian crisis in the enclave. After the closure of the border crossings as a punitive measure a few days ago, the Strip was left without the necessary fuel to operate its only power plant, leaving the more than two million Gazans with only four hours of electricity a day. and basic services operate in a very limited way.
The current spike in tension began on Friday with a strong Israeli “preemptive” offensive on Jihad targets in Gaza in the face of what the Army described as an “imminent threat” of attack by the group in retaliation following the arrest on Monday of one of their leaders during a raid in the occupied West Bank.
Israel sees the YIP’s ties to Iran as making the group a satellite of Tehran, which is seen by the Jewish state as an existential threat.
Israel kills another top Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader
Israel announced this Sunday that it killed Khaled Mansur, leader of the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in the southern area of the Gaza Strip. Mansur is the second senior member of the group killed during the current escalation since the selective assassination of Taysir al Jabari last Friday.
Mansur’s death has been confirmed by the YIP and was caused by a selective Israeli attack on the city of Rafah, in southern Gaza. In that attack, according to the Israeli Army, two other leaders of the group were also killed, including Mansur’s right-hand man, and an estimated 30 people were injured.
According to an Israeli military spokesman, Mansur was one of the main rocket firers at Israel during the May 2021 escalation and was responsible for multiple attacks against Israelis.
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