178 killed in Gaza in last 24 hours
With latest Palestinian casualties, death toll from Israel’s attacks since October 7 has risen to 25,105
Ankara, Turkey - At least 178 Palestinians have been killed and 293 injured in the last 24 hours as Israeli forces continued their onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip, the territory’s Health Ministry said on Sunday.
“The Israeli occupation committed 15 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, leaving 178 martyrs and 293 injured during the past 24 hours,” the ministry said in a statement.
“Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” the statement said.
With the latest Palestinian casualties, the death toll from Israel’s ongoing attacks on Gaza since October 7 has risen to 25,105, with 62,681 others injured, the ministry said. Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas on October 7, which Tel Aviv says killed nearly 1,200 people.
The Israeli offensive has left 85 per cent of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60 per cent of the enclave’s infrastructure was damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
US confirms death of American civilian
The US State Department on Saturday confirmed the death of an American civilian on Friday in the occupied West Bank and said it has asked the Israeli government for more information.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the family,” a State Department spokesperson told
Anadolu. “We are working to understand the circumstances of the incident and have asked the
Government of Israel for further information.”
The spokesperson refused to
provide further information ‘out of respect to the family during this difficult time’.
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on Friday that the US was ‘seriously concerned’ by reports that Israeli forces fatally shot a PalestinianAmerican teen in the occupied territory. Tawfiq Hafiz Hajazi, 17, was killed on Friday by the Israeli army near the town of Al
Mazraa Al-sharqiya, east of Ramallah, according to the official Palestinian news agency, WAFA. It said he was shot in the head and was taken to a hospital where he died.
Israeli police said on Saturday that it was investigating the shooting.
Tensions have been running high across the West Bank since Israel launched a deadly military
offensive against the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack on October 7. At least 370 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 4,200 injured, according to officials.
Protest in Prague
Scores of Czech protesters expressed disappointment on Saturday in Prague for the government’s strong support for
Israel with its ongoing military operation in Gaza.
The protest which was called by pro-palestine advocacy and solidarity groups, started at the Namesti Miru and then marched with more than 1,000 people to different areas of the city.
Demonstrators demanded an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. Authorities deployed a heavy police contingent to avoid untoward incidents.
“We are asking for a ceasefire because this is a foundation for a lasting peace, we must first have a cease-fire before we can discuss lasting peace at all,” Kara Clarkson told Anadolu. She requested those from other European countries immediately demand a cease-fire.
Protestors demanded the Czech government roll back its pro-israel policies and they called the military action ‘an unjust war’. Czech researcher Pavel Borecky told the Turkish news agency that he disagrees with the official position of the Czech government which keeps supporting Israel even in times when an international court is probing whether Israel is committing genocide.
“It is an important cause and we need more people to hear and be here with us,” he added.
The protest was the largest pro-palestinian gathering in Prague since the start of the Israeli onslaught in Gaza which indicates that pro-palestine momentum is surprisingly rising in a country that claims to be the ‘voice of Israel in Europe’.
We are asking for a cease-fire because this is a foundation for a lasting peace, we must first have a cease-fire before we can discuss lasting peace at all KARA CLARKSON