Protests against the war in Gaza and the far-right government will be held tonight (Saturday) at Kaplan Street in Tel-Aviv and near Netanyahu’s’ home in Caesarea. Yesterday, Police say they won’t allow a protest outside Prime residence in Caesarea and disperse any such demonstration because it “does not allow demonstrations on political, political or security issues during wartime.” However, Police issue today a “clarification”: “The Israel Police considers the right to protest a cornerstone of a democratic country,” they say in a statement.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum protest, Saturday morning, near Tel-Aviv Museum (Photo: Zo Haderech)
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum demand today that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and the members of the war cabinet meet with them immediately. The group’s statement read that “This night was the worst of all nights” against the backdrop of the Israeli army first major incursion into the Gaza Strip. “Anxiety, frustration, and especially enormous anger that no one from the war cabinet bothered to meet with the families of the abductees to explain to them one thing – whether the ground operation endangers the safety of the 229 abductees in Gaza,” the statement said.
Gaza Strip residents reported that the night’s attacks were the worst since the beginning of the war saying the bombings were incessant in the east of the Gaza Strip, mainly in the northern area from Jabaliya to Beit Lahia and Beit Hanun, but also east of Deir al-Balah in the center of the Gaza Strip and Khan Yunis in the south.
Palestinian Minister of Health, Dr. Mai Alkaila, said Saturday that Israel is “committing genocide in Gaza.” Since the start of the war, 7,700 civilians have been killed by Israel in Gaza, according to Alkalia, 70 percent of them being children, women and the elderly. 19,000 have been wounded and thousands more are trapped under rubble, she noted.
“The occupation kills civilians and health teams, destroys treatment centers and ambulances, prevents the fuel needed to operate hospitals, prevents the entry of urgent medical supplies, prevents the wounded and sick from leaving the Strip for treatment, and prevents the entry of volunteer medical teams,” Alkaila said in the statement.
In addition, Israel’s military has told international news agencies Reuters and AFP (Agence France Presse) that it cannot guarantee the safety of their journalists operating in the Gaza Strip, under Israeli bombardment and siege for almost three weeks. The Committee to Protect Journalists says at least 27 journalists have been killed since the war began, mostly in Gaza but also in Israel and southern Lebanon. As of Oct. 27, according to CPJ’s latest update, 22 Palestinians, four Israelis and one Lebanese have been killed.
Palestinian reports from Gaza are scarce after internet and phone services collapsed during Israeli bombardment last night amid the Israel army expanded ground operation, a reporter for the BBC says there is “total chaos” in the Strip. “There was a huge bombardment in the north of Gaza Strip on a scale we’ve never seen before,” writes Rushdi Abualouf. “At the hospital here, ambulance drivers told me they couldn’t communicate with anyone, so they were just driving in the direction of the explosions,” he writes.
“There’s been panic everywhere, even here in Khan Younis, where the bombing was less, as people try to reach family members in other areas to check they are safe, but the phones have been cut off,” Abualouf said.
Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=31289
