GAZA, Apr 24 (NNN-XINHUA) – More than a million residents in the Gaza Strip have lost their homes, and 75 percent of the population in the Palestinian coastal enclave have been displaced, since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict 200 days ago, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), said, yesterday.
“Destruction is everywhere in Gaza. Damage to critical infrastructure is immense,” UNRWA wrote in a post on social media platform X.
In a recorded speech, marking the 200th day of the conflict, Abu Ubaida, spokesperson for the Al-Qassam Brigades, accused Israel of impeding mediation efforts for a ceasefire.
“Israel is trying to escape from all of its promises in negotiations and wants to buy more time,” he said, adding that, there will be no compromise on the basic rights of the Palestinian people. These include the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, the lifting of the blockade, and the return of displaced Palestinians to their homes, or what’s left of them.
Israeli media reported Monday, preparations were underway, to expand the humanitarian zone in the Gaza Strip, ahead of a possible Israeli attack on the southernmost Gazan city of Rafah.
The Israeli regime’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, vowed Sunday to intensify military and political pressure on Hamas in the coming days.
Netanyahu repeatedly threatened to launch attacks on Rafah, as the last “stronghold” of Hamas.
Rafah is the last refuge for more than 1.4 million Palestinians, who were displaced from the northern and central parts of the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel.
As of yesterday, a total of 34,183 Palestinians have been killed, and 77,143 others injured in the Gaza Strip, due to unrelenting Israeli regime’s attacks, according to figures published by the Palestinian Health Ministry.– NNN-XINHUA