Copyright truthout
Israel killed at least 104 Palestinians in a barrage of airstrikes on Gaza overnight on Wednesday, in a major violation of the ceasefire agreement that Israel has said is back on after the strikes. At least 46 children were among those killed by the strikes, which also wounded 253 Palestinians, Gaza’s Ministry of Health said. Gaza’s Civil Defense teams were forced to use small tools and their hands in attempts to dig through the rubble for survivors and bodies. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein said that the strikes were carried out in full coordination with the U.S., per the Associated Press. Israel and the U.S. said that the ceasefire is back on after the strikes. “As I understand it, they took out an Israeli soldier,” U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday. “So the Israelis hit back and they should hit back.” He added, however, that “nothing is going to jeopardize” the ceasefire, without acknowledging that such a display of force destabilizes the agreement. “Hamas is a very small part of the overall Middle East peace. And they have to behave,” Trump said. “If they are good, they are going to be happy, and if they are not good, they are going to be terminated; their lives will be terminated,” he went on, in an open threat to end the ceasefire agreement. The Israeli military claimed that it took out “terrorists” and outposts in the strikes, without evidence. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the “forceful strikes” on Tuesday after accusing Hamas of withholding remains of Israeli captives, and attributing the killing of an Israeli soldier in Rafah to the group. On Tuesday, Israel claimed that one of the bodies returned by Hamas was not the body of one of the captives still remaining in the territory. There are still 13 bodies of captives in Gaza. Gaza officials have repeatedly said that it is difficult to find the remains of captives after two years of near-endless bombardment and genocide. Additionally, Hamas denied involvement in the attack on Israeli soldiers in Rafah. Some recent clashes have broken out involving armed groups unaffiliated with Hamas in Gaza. “These documented crimes add to the long list of ongoing violations against our people,” said the Palestinian Civil Defense in a statement. Indeed, Israel has committed numerous violations of the ceasefire since it went into effect earlier this month. The latest attack brings the total number of people who Israeli forces have killed amid the ceasefire to over 200, and at least 597 injured.
