On Wednesday, the Israeli Air Force continued to attack the Gaza Strip and Hamas militants continued to attack Israeli soldiers, one other indication that this week’s U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire has didn’t persuade either side as attempts the agreement looked as if it would have faltered.
Within two days of the adoption of the UN resolution on Monday, the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said they were continuing to perform attacks on Israeli soldiers. The Israeli military said Wednesday that warplanes had struck dozens of targets the previous day, including tunnels, military facilities and militants.
Israel openly condemned the Security Council resolution that called for a ceasefire for the remaining weeks of Ramadan, which might result in a “permanent and lasting” cessation of fighting and the unconditional release of all hostages held by militants in Gaza. The United States, which had vetoed previous attempts, abstained from voting, allowing the resolution to pass.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Senator Rick Scott, a Republican from Florida, in Jerusalem on Wednesday and continued to specific opposition to the US decision. According to a press release from his office, he argued that this encouraged “Hamas to take a hard line and believe that international pressure will prevent Israel from releasing the hostages and destroying Hamas.”
Israel and Hamas appear no closer to negotiating an end to fighting, although significant gaps remain between them.
On Wednesday, three Palestinian human rights organizations he said that over the past 72 hours, Israeli bombing of Rafah has intensified, leading to dozens of deaths. Hundreds of hundreds of displaced Gazans find shelter there. Some of the strikes described by these groups took place after the adoption of the Security Council resolution, while several others took place earlier.
Gaza authorities said Wednesday that Civil Defense teams had pulled Palestinians from the rubble of strikes in the northern Gaza neighborhood of Jabaliya, though the timing was unclear.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its teams found the bodies of two people killed by artillery fire in the Nuseirat district.
The Israeli military didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment on the reports.
On Wednesday afternoon, Hamas said it had hit a soldier with sniper fire in the area of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, after saying on Tuesday it had targeted two Israeli tanks in the Khan Younis area, an armored personnel carrier and a soldier on a coastal road from the north South.
Since early last week, Israeli forces have been raiding Al-Shifa in what the military says is an try to crack down on Hamas. Humanitarian organizations expressed concern about the situation at the medical facility, which, together with the surrounding area, provided shelter to hundreds of individuals.
Over the past 48 hours, the Qassam Brigades also released videos purporting to point out militants firing on Israeli forces, however it was unclear when the videos were recorded.
