Gaza: Occupation airstrikes kill five children in Eid al-Fitr
The Zionist occupation launched a series of airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Sunday as Palestinians mark Eid al-Fitr, resulting in nine martyrs, including five children.
Palestinians in war-torn Gaza held Eid prayers outside destroyed mosques, marking the end of Ramadan. Traditionally a day of joy, when families gather for feasts and children wear their new clothes, Gaza’s 2 million residents are struggling to survive amid the ongoing genocide perpetrated by the Zionist occupation.
Late Saturday, the Palestinian group Hamas agreed to a new ceasefire proposal that was submitted by Egypt and Qatar, expressing hope that the occupation would not obstruct the plan.
“We received a proposal two days ago from our brothers in Egypt and Qatar, who are mediating the talks,” Khalil al-Hayya, the head of Hamas in Gaza, announced in a televised address on Eid al-Fitr.
“We engaged with the proposal positively and accepted it, and we hope that the occupation will not sabotage it or undermine the mediators’ efforts.”
Al-Hayya did not disclose details about the proposal, but media outlets have in recent days reported that Egypt and Qatar submitted a proposal for a Gaza ceasefire, under which the second phase of the ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal would take effect after a period of calm.
Earlier, the Zionist entity announced that it had responded to the mediators with a counter-proposal, which was fully coordinated with Washington, without disclosing the content of either proposal.
The occupation forces launched a surprise aerial campaign on Gaza on March 18, shattering a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement, and killing more than 920 people while injuring over 2,000 others.
Prior to that, the occupation had cut off all sources of food, fuel, medicine, and other essential supplies to the besieged enclave for four weeks, marking the longest blockade throughout the 17-month-long genocidal war.
Aid workers are stretching out the remaining supplies they have but warn of a catastrophic surge in severe hunger and malnutrition. Eventually, food will run out completely if the flow of aid is not restored, as the Zionist forces have been targeting local food production in Gaza.
On Friday, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) reported that it only has “5,700 tonnes of food stocks left in Gaza – enough to support WFP operations for a maximum of two weeks”.
The organisation added that the price of food has drastically increased, with a 25kg (55lb) bag of wheat flour now costing up to $50, a “400 percent increase compared to pre-March 18 prices”.
Tom Fletcher, chief of humanitarian affairs at OCHA, told the United Nations Security Council that all entry points into Gaza were closed to cargo with food “rotting, medicine expiring, and vital medical equipment stuck”.
“International humanitarian law prohibits indiscriminate attacks, obstruction of life-saving aid, destruction of infrastructure indispensable for civilians’ survival … If the basic principles of humanitarian law still count, the international community must act while it can to uphold them,” he said.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, the Zionist occupation’s genocidal war on the Strip has resulted in 50,277 Palestinian martyrs and 114,095 wounded. Gaza’s Government Media Office updated its death toll about two months ago to more than 61,700, saying thousands of people missing under the rubble are presumed dead.
