On the 17th, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict entered its second week. Following the "deadly airstrikes" that killed 42 Palestinians the day before, Israel launched a new round of more intense and longer-lasting airstrikes that day. Hamas, for its part, continues to fire rockets at Israeli cities, rising to about 3,000 since the conflict. At present, there are no casualties on both sides.
As of the 16th, the death toll in Pakistan climbed to 192, including 58 children. The Israeli death toll was 10, including 2 children. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised speech on the 16th that Israel's action against Hamas will not end immediately.
As the war raged on, the UN Security Council held an emergency public meeting on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the 16th. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres called the current situation "alarming" and called for a ceasefire agreement to be reached as soon as possible to prevent the situation from spiralling out of control. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi put forward a four-point proposal. As of press time, no relevant statements had been issued at the meeting.
"More than 66 attacks in 30 minutes"
On the morning of the 17th, Israeli warplanes launched a series of onslaughts on several locations in Gaza, and the explosion lasted for 10 minutes from north to south.
The Associated Press said that compared with the air strikes that caused the deaths of 42 Palestinians on the 16th, the air strikes on the 17th were more intense, more extensive and longer-lasting. "This airstrike is the deadliest in the Israeli-Hamas conflict."
The Israeli military said they attacked the residences of nine Hamas commanders in Gaza. Local media said that in the latest attack, major coastal roads, security facilities and open spaces in the western part of Gaza City were bombed. The airstrikes also damaged transmission lines for the only power plant that supplied electricity to much of southern Gaza.
Reuters said that Israel launched dozens of air strikes on Gaza on the 17th. Witnesses said the attack appeared to be concentrated in Gaza City. Roads, buildings and training camps for militants were destroyed. Russian television today said dozens of loud noises could be heard in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian sources said there had been more than 66 attacks in 30 minutes, with particularly heavy bombardments.
On the other hand, Hamas also continued to fire rockets at Israeli cities that day. The Israeli military said that just after midnight, Gaza militants fired rockets at the Israeli cities of Beer Sheba and Ashkelon.
This past Sunday, Gaza suffered the "deadliest" day in a week, in which at least 42 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes. This was the largest number of deaths in the Palestinian side during Israel's seven-day military operation. On the same day, Israeli forces attacked a busy street full of residential buildings and businesses in the center of Gaza, destroying two adjacent buildings and a building about 50 meters away. The deadly airstrikes raised the cumulative death toll for Pakistan in the clashes to 192, including 58 children and more than 30 women, and injured more than 1,200 others.
Voices are clamoring for the United States to "give strength"
The ongoing fighting has aroused the concern of the international community. The United Nations Security Council met on the 16th to discuss a solution.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said at the meeting that the current round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict is "utterly appalling." He urged both sides to cease fire immediately and warned that an intensification of the conflict could plunge the region into an "uncontrollable crisis.".
At the meeting, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivered a speech entitled "Immediate Ceasefire, Stop Violence, Safeguard Fairness and Justice," and put forward a four-point proposal. He reiterated his firm support for the "two-state solution", saying that "due to the obstruction of one country, the Security Council has not been able to speak out in unison" and called on "the United States to assume its due responsibility".
Wang Yi stressed: "The Palestinian-Israeli issue has been on the agenda of the United Nations for more than 70 years, and generations of Palestinians, from black to white hair, have still not been able to restore their legitimate national rights. Justice is late, but it cannot be absent forever. ”
On the same day, the U.S. State Department said Secretary of State Blinken spoke by phone with foreign ministers from Qatar, Egypt and Saudi Arabia to discuss the Situation between Palestine and Israel. Qatar's foreign ministry said in a statement that "it is necessary for the international community to take urgent action to stop Israel's repeated and brutal attacks on civilians in the Gaza region and the Al-Aqsa Mosque." ”
The Associated Press said that the call for a ceasefire between Palestine and Israel and for the United States to increase mediation is growing. Greenfield, the PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF the United States to the United Nations, warned that the fall of Palestine and Israel into armed conflict will make the implementation of the "two-state solution" even more out of reach. Rep. Adam Schiff, a Democrat who chairs the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, also urged Biden to promote a Palestinian-Israeli ceasefire and restart Palestinian-Israeli peace talks. Still, Biden has yet to put blatant pressure on Israel, and he has refused to send senior envoys to conflict zones.
Amid the international community's cry for a ceasefire, Israel remains reluctant to give up. Netanyahu said on the 16th that the Israel Defense Forces are seeking to weaken Hamas and its military strike capabilities, and will not cancel the operation until this goal is completed. He vowed to make Hamas "pay a heavy price" and "it will take time.".
CNN commented that although the number of casualties in this round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is lower than that of 2014, it is in many ways a more bleak and ominous episode. The conflict is not limited to aerial bombardment and rocket attacks in Gaza and southern Israel, but has spread to the streets of Israeli towns, communities in Jerusalem and the entire West Bank.
Even more worrying is the fact that toughness is now becoming increasingly a form of "political correctness" for both Israel and the Palestinians. In this "polarized" situation, the voices of the battle on both sides become deafening, while those that demand coexistence appear to be "whispered". It is conceivable that this round of The Palestinian-Israeli conflict will eventually end like in 2014 when both sides feel that they can claim "victory", but it is only a truce.
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Column Editor-in-Chief: Yang Liqun Text Editor: Yang Liqun Caption Source: Xinhua News Agency Photo Editor: Xiang Jianying
Source: Author: Zhang Quan
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