‘When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are to possess and drives out the many nations larger and stronger than you, and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. Do not save alive anything that breathes…Do not intermarry with them…Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons…Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and burn their idols in the fire, for you are a people holy to the Lord your God who has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession…’ –Book of Deuteronomy
Middle East Monitor
Israeli warplanes have bombed eight hospitals in the Gaza Strip in the past three days, the government media office in Gaza said today.
‘The Israeli aggression has forced 18 hospitals out of service since 7 October,’ added the official statement. Israeli artillery shelled the courtyard of Al-Shifa Hospital and the gate of Al-Nasr Hospital in the blockaded territory. ‘The bombing of hospitals is a war crime according to international humanitarian law, and is criminalised by 16 international agreements and UN resolutions that call for the protection of health facilities.’
There was no comment from the Israeli army on the statement from Gaza.
At least 10,569 Palestinians, including 4,324 children and 2,823 women, have been killed in Israeli air and ground attacks in the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, on 7 October. The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is nearly 1,600, according to official figures.
Besides the large number of casualties and massive displacements, essential supplies are running out for Gaza’s 2.3 million residents due to the 16-year Israeli siege. Food is running out, and bakeries are inoperable in the Gaza Strip, according to the World Food Programme.