Over 200 Palestinians wounded, 24 killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza – Health Ministry. The Israel Defense Forces’ press service reported earlier that Israel had launched Operation Breaking Dawn on Friday and was striking targets of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad radical group in Gaza, TASS reports. The death rate from Israel’s strikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 24, and 203 people have been injured, the Sky News Arabia news channel said on Saturday, citing the enclave’s Health Ministry.
The Palestinian health ministry announced that five more children were killed during Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on 6 August, raising the total death toll to 24. Over 200 injuries were reported as a result of the Israeli offensive.
Fresh attacks targeted the Jabalia and Rafah refugee camps late on 6 August, where at least 9 civilians were killed. However, Tel Aviv claims some of these deaths were caused by an “errant rocket” fired by the Palestinian resistance.
Dozens of residential buildings have been destroyed by Israeli missiles since Friday, when the army launched an unprovoked attack on the world’s largest open-air prison.
Breaking News: Israel launches new attacks on Gaza
VIDEO: Israeli attacks on residential building in Gaza
Breaking News: Israel launches new attacks on Gaza
— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) August 6, 2022
VIDEO: Israeli attacks on residential building in Gaza pic.twitter.com/DfwQIb5zsW
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) says at least forty families have been displaced since the attacks began, while the UN special rapporteur on Palestine called Israel’s attack a “flagrant act of aggression.”
Israel claims to have killed ‘entire’ PIJ military brass
Most of Israel’s attacks have targeted the alleged positions of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) resistance movement. Several PIJ commanders are among the casualties.
On Saturday, the head of the southern wing of the Al-Quds Brigades, Khaled Mansour, was reportedly killed. Three other PIJ commanders were killed on Friday.
The head of the Israeli army’s operations directorate made claims near midnight that, according to “all available information,” their attacks killed the “entire” PIJ military leadership.
Israeli officials earlier claimed Tel Aviv was ready for a “week of operations” in Gaza.
Retaliatory strikes from the resistance have been ongoing, with dozens of rockets fired towards the illegal settlements as part of operation Wihdet al-Sahat, or ‘Unity of Fronts’.
Breaking News: “We launched 60 missiles on Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv, Ashdod, Beersheba, Ashkelon, Netivot, and Sderot,” Al-Quds Brigades said in a statement
VIDEO: Fresh barrage of long-range missiles fired from Gaza
Breaking News: "We launched 60 missiles on Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv, Ashdod, Beersheba, Ashkelon, Netivot, and Sderot," Al-Quds Brigades said in a statement
— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) August 6, 2022
VIDEO: Fresh barrage of long-range missiles fired from Gaza pic.twitter.com/4207URy3RI
No Israeli casualties have been reported from the retaliatory attacks; however, some of the rockets reached the vicinity of Tel Aviv.
The home front command has advised settlers to spend the nights inside bomb shelters, with many of them being “treated for anxiety.”
Hezbollah warns Israel of ‘miscalculation’, IRGC and PIJ chiefs meet
During a speech on Saturday night, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addressed Israeli authorities, telling them the coming days “will prove that you miscalculated.”
“The days are between us and you know that the resistance is more numerous and stronger than any time, and on the issue of Gaza, the days will prove that you miscalculated, whatever the outcome, hours or days later,” Nasrallah said.
Earlier in the day the leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Major General Hossein Salami, met with the head of the PIJ, Ziad al-Nakhalah, in Tehran.
“Undoubtedly, the swift response of the Palestinian Islamic resistance to such a crime proves that a new era has begun for the resistance to take power and the Zionists will pay yet another heavy price for their recent crime,” the IRGC chief said.
For his part, Nakhalah said Israel must expect a “non-stop” confrontation.
In May of 2021, the Palestinian resistance in Gaza fired close to 4,000 rockets into the occupied territories during the Sword of Al-Quds operation, forcing Israel to put an end to the fourth large-scale war waged against the densely-populated enclave.
Many nations have issued condemnations of Israel’s brutal airstrikes on the besieged Gaza Strip that started on 5 August. Russia referred to the Israeli strikes as a ‘provocation’, and has urged all sides to exercise restraint.
So far, Tel Aviv’s bombing campaign has left over 100 injured and caused the deaths of 13 Palestinians, including a five-year old girl and three commanders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
Palestinian resistance groups have launched several rocket attacks in retaliation, targeting nearby illegal settlements.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, condemned on 6 August the escalation that “was provoked by Israeli air strikes,” adding that Moscow is deeply concerned over the breakout of large-scale conflict.
The official also called all sides to “exercise maximum restraint.”
Egypt has also condemned the attacks and warned against escalation, with an anonymous Egyptian security source telling Arab media: “We hope to reach a consensus to return to calm as soon as possible.”
Another Egyptian source revealed that a PIJ delegation may travel to Cairo on 6 August for talks with Egyptian officials.
In another strong condemnation of the Israeli aggression, Qatar called on the international community to “move urgently” to stop Israel’s continuous violence against civilians.
The Gulf state’s foreign ministry affirmed via statement the kingdom’s “firm position on the justice of the Palestinian cause, the legitimate rights of the brotherly Palestinian people, and the establishment of their independent state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
Jordan also called on Israel to “immediately stop its aggression,” warning of the dangerous consequences of increased escalation.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan vehemently denounced Tel Aviv’s actions on Saturday, with the Taliban foreign ministry calling on the international community to perform its duty and prevent Israeli crimes against Palestinians.
On the same day, the Islamic Republic of Iran issued its own condemnation of the attacks on Gaza.
“In its last night’s crime, the Zionist regime once again showed its occupier and aggressor nature to the world, but the resistance of the people of Gaza will speed up the decline of this child-killing regime,” Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on the morning of 6 August.
A statement by the Turkish Foreign Ministry on 5 August “strongly” condemned the Israeli bombardment, referring to the loss of civilian life as “unacceptable,” and urging “restraint and common sense.”
Turkey has recently strengthened its diplomatic relationship with Israel after a long period of tension, and has reportedly been deporting members of the Hamas resistance faction at Tel Aviv’s request and in a bid to further improve relations with Israel.