Israeli airstrikes targeted several locations in the Gaza Strip, killing not least 34 Palestinians, amongst whom 9 were children, as per the Gaza Civil Defense official.

The conflict, which has been going on for 349 days, now more than one year, still affects the Palestinians severely, claiming their lives. Gaza Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal has released the details, including how many civilians are affected by the continuing assaults.

More than 41,272 Palestinians have been killed in the densely populated enclave at the hands of Israeli forces, including airstrikes since October 7, 2023, of which 16,795 are children and 11,378 women.

Being injured next to it, in addition to the sadness of the losses, the number of suffering people is becoming heartbreaking: 41,890 killed and 95,551 injured; many of them are still under the debris of destroyed buildings.

Gaza has largely been under Israeli attack for nearly a year, and huge sections of the civilian facilities, including hospitals and schools, have been destroyed.

The country has witnessed the destruction of thousands of homes and critical structures, thus limiting the access of rescue teams to those in need of emergency assistance, food, and medicine.

The humanitarian crises have, however, received much criticism from the entire world, especially from the Israelis for bombing civilian-headed homes. With continuous attacks on hospitals, clinics, and emergency services, Gaza’s already weak healthcare system is collapsing.

Fortunately, the medical staff treats an overwhelming number of traumas, such as severe burns, shrapnel wounds, and many amputations. Due to the blockade, they received limited medical supplies, and doctors and nurses remained insufficient to help the injured.

According to the local inhabitants’ report, up to thousands of people are still trapped under the debris of their houses, which adds to the challenges of the rescue team.

The absence of large equipment and fuel for search and rescue missions has greatly affected the search for survivors. Because of the blockade, many medical supplies are scarce, making it hard for health professionals to attend to the injured.

Eyewitnesses reported that several thousand remain under the debris with information on the death toll being skewed by having more people reported dead than alive.” As in other countries, there is no heavy equipment or fuel for search and rescue missions, making it difficult to find survivors.

International response

The whole world is still worried over the increasing rise of useless violence, while heads of state urge the cessation of hostilities. However, diplomatic modes of conflict resolution have not been successful in this regard as of now.

In Washington, the first conversation on the situation in Gaza was between US President Joe Biden and the United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Presidents of the White House have called for measures that should address the humanitarian situation, while the American government has not made efforts to halt the bombings.

Germany – which has come under growing legal and political pressure over the sale of arms to Israel – said it will temporarily cease new arms exports to Israel.

However, spokespeople for Germany sought to make a key distinction that the soccer teams’ inability to play was not a total boycott. The activists have noted that Berlin has been criticised for providing arms to Israel during the conflict, and some of them are concerned that these exports are against energetic humanitarian law.

Rising tensions in Lebanon

At the same time, in Lebanon, the violence has increased due to the series of explosions that have happened in connection with the attacks of Israel on the positions of Hezbollah, which took the lives of 20 people and injured more than 450. It is thus worth admitting that some blasts were caused by electronic devices such as walkie-talkies.

Several hospitals in Lebanon are overwhelmed with the number of victims with injuries, and these include shrapnel wounds and amputations.

As the conflict between Israel and Gaza escalates, people are waiting for a greater regional conflict, and Hezbollah has already hinted at increasing its participation in the hostilities. The conflict persists, impairing life in Lebanon; it could intensify in the rest of the Middle East.

Gaza conflict seems to perpetuate to the effect that bombardment and ground attacks go on with extensive destruction to civil populations; calls for peace become an urgent necessity.