Warning sirens in action and people invited to reach the air-raid shelters a Tel Aviv, again targeted by Hamas rockets at midnight (11 pm in Italy). An offensive against which Israel has again fought with heavy air raids on the Gaza Strip. According to reports from al Jazeera, a street in the center of Gaza City and two residential buildings were hit. The attack, which took place without warning – specifies the broadcaster citing medical sources – would have made at least three victims plus an unspecified number of people who remained under the rubble. Local sources and residents denounce on twitter dozens of consecutive attacks on the main streets of Gaza City, which also hinder ambulance rescue. In various areas of the city there is no electricity.
The Israeli bombing also touched the building that houses the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa), as the director of the institution Matthias Schmale tells in a tweet: “God help the people of Gaza, in the last 45 minutes the heaviest bombing near our building with the UNRWA offices”.
The air raid started after the new rain of rockets on Tel Aviv. Alarms also went off in Ashdod, Ashkelon and the West Bank. The Israeli armed forces confirmed the attack with a tweet: “Men, women, children and the elderly are in shelters to protect themselves from rockets fired at them.” The offensive had been announced by Hamas: at the end of “two hours of ceasefire” the inhabitants of Tel Aviv “will return to stand on one leg”, that is, in a state of uncertainty and anxiety, he announced on Telegram. And at midnight the alarm sirens sounded again in Tel Aviv and in the metropolitan area. Explosions in the sky were heard, most likely due to the interception of rockets launched from Gaza. “Men, women, children and the elderly are currently in shelters,” added the Israeli military.
“Against Hamas we will act for the necessary time”, reiterated the Israeli premier Benyamin Netanyahu, in a speech in which he returned to thank American President Joe Biden for his unconditional support for Israel. “We are not responsible for this confrontation, but those who attack us are. We must not forget that”.
Journalists tower destroyed in Gaza. Guterres (UN): “Deeply disturbed”
Yesterday an Israeli bombing destroyed the Al Jala tower in Gaza that it housed Al Jazeera, the Associated Press and other international media offices. The army warned that the building would be bombed within an hour to allow for evacuation. The attack came half an hour later. According to Israel, “the building housed the offices of civilian media, which Hamas used as human shields”.
Gaza, Al Jazeera skyscraper hit and Ap: building destroyed
Abu Obeida, spokesman for Hamas’ military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, threatened a harsh reaction: “Residents of Tel Aviv and central Israel must be careful,” he said, quoted by Times of Israel.
The Israeli offensive raised harsh commentary from Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General: “Any indiscriminate attack against civilian media structures violates international law, must be avoided at all costs”, underlines the top UN representative, who says “dismay at the growing number of victims civilians “and” deeply disturbed by the destruction of the skyscraper that housed various international media “.
“We have communicated directly to the Israelis that ensuring the safety of independent journalists and media is a fundamental responsibility,” the spokesperson for the White House, Jen Psaki.
Sirens resound in Tel Aviv: the escape of bathers from the beaches
Israel “does everything possible to avoid hitting uninvolved people,” the premier said Benjamin Netanyahu in a telephone conversation with the president Joe Biden. “The proof – he added – is that the towers, inside which there were terrorist targets, attacked by the army, have been cleared of people not involved”. Netanyahu updated Biden “of Israel’s developments and actions, including future ones” and thanked him for his “unconditional support for the right of the Jewish state to defend itself”.
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