Peace looks unlikely as it has been reported that tens ofthousands of people are fleeing from the north of Gaza as Israeli forces get ready to strikeHamas militants.
100,000 local Palestinians in Beit Lahiya received noticefrom the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) that a bombing operation on a large scalewill ensue against suspected rocket launch sites within the city. Palestiniancivilians have been asked to leave the area or face imminent danger.
The United Nations has reported so far that 17,000Palestinians have paid attention to the stark IDF warning and are beingprotected from within UN compounds.
This figure seems to keep rising.
Palestinian militants launched a missile on Friday thatlanded close to the city of Haifa,demonstrating that Israel isalso vulnerable to direct attacks from Gaza.Palestinian rockets are reaching further into Gaza than ever before.
The Health Ministry in Gazahas released figures revealing that the current operation, these latest attacksagainst Hamas, have resulted in 175 deaths and 1,000 injuries, predominantlycivilian.
The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to CBS, “We’resorry for any accidental civilian deaths, but it’s the Hamas that barescomplete responsibility for such civilian causalities.”
There is no clear end in sight for the strikes.
TheIsraeli Prime Minister said: “We do not know when the operation will end. It mighttake a long time.”
The current humanitarian crisis in Gazaflared up in June after the abduction and murder of three Israeli teenagers;Naftali Fraen, Gilad Shaer and Eyal Yifrah in Jerusalem on 12 June.
In retaliation attack a Palestinian boy Mohammed Abu Khdeir waskidnapped from outside his home in Jerusalem,beaten and forensic evidence suggests that he was burned alive.
Three arrests have been made following the killing ofMohammed and the three accused have admitted and reenacted the murder forinvestigators. It is expected that they will plead insanity as form of defense,but as yet their names have not been released.
