Israel’s Gaza bloodbath continues, 36 bombings and 107 killed in 40 days of Iran war
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Amid truce talks among the United States, Israel and Iran set to commence shortly, Israeli aggressions against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, ever since the beginning of its war on Iran on February 28, were reported through about 36 incidents of bombing in Gaza in the last forty days, while civilian killings in those regions were clamoured amid the war, despite the reported violation of a nominal ceasefire in the Gaza Strip six months ago.
Even as diplomatic overtures intensified and a two-week cessation of hostilities between the US and Iran was announced, Israel was reported to have continued near-daily bombardments across Gaza, Lebanon and the occupied West Bank, according to Al Jazeera.
Over the forty-day period following February 28, Israel allegedly carried out attacks on thirty-six days, leaving only four days devoid of reported deaths or injuries, while the persistence of aerial assaults underscored the fragility of the declared ceasefire.
Between February 28 and April 8, Israeli strikes were reported to have killed at least 107 Palestinians and injured 342 others in Gaza, whereas cumulative casualties since the ceasefire’s implementation six months earlier were said to have risen to 738 deaths and more than 2,000 injuries.
The broader toll of Israel’s protracted military campaign was described as devastating, with more than 72,000 people reportedly killed and at least 172,000 injured, while thousands remained buried beneath rubble and presumed dead.
Amid the continued bombardments, Israel also imposed severe humanitarian restrictions, including the closure of the Rafah crossing, which had been envisaged as a principal conduit for medical evacuations and relief consignments.
Under a US-brokered arrangement permitting fifty patients daily to exit for treatment, only a fraction were allowed to leave, with 625 out of 7,800 travellers reportedly evacuated since February 28, reflecting barely eight per cent of the agreed number.
Thousands of critically wounded individuals, including approximately 4,000 children, were said to remain in urgent need of specialised care unavailable within Gaza’s crippled medical infrastructure.
Limitations on aid convoys exacerbated acute shortages, while global hunger monitors indicated that 77 per cent of Gaza’s population faced severe food insecurity. Of the 1.6 million assessed, hundreds of thousands were categorised in crisis or emergency phases, and a small but alarming number were already experiencing famine conditions, as only 4,999 of the 23,400 aid trucks stipulated in the ceasefire arrangement were reportedly permitted entry.