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23-06-2024
GAZA CITY: At least 42 Palestinians have been martyred by Israeli attacks on the Shati refugee camp and the Tuffah neighborhood in Gaza, the head of Gaza’s Government Media Office told media.
The WHO says the health system in Gaza is near collapse as casualties from an Israeli attack on the al-Mawasi “safe zone” pour into Al-Aqsa Hospital.
Israeli tanks push deeper into western Rafah as warplanes and artillery pound the city where an armoured vehicle was destroyed by a Hamas-planted improvised explosive device.
At least 37,551 people have been killed and 85,911 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7. The revised death toll in Israel from the Hamas-led attacks stands at 1,139, with dozens of people still held captive in Gaza.
The number of Israeli women applying for gun permits has soared in particular, with Ministry of National Security data saying there have been 42,000 gun permit applications by women since October 7.
With 18,000 approved, the number of women-held licenses has tripled relative to pre-war Israel.
The surge has been enabled by the loosening of gun laws under Israel’s right-wing government and its far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
More than 15,000 women civilians own a firearm in Israel and the occupied West Bank, with 10,000 enrolled in mandatory training, according to the ministry.
While the immediate trigger for the surge in gun buying was the October 7 attack, Ben-Gvir was already pledging to reform firearms legislation when he became security minister in late 2022.
He promised to raise the number of civilians holding weapons and “increase self-defence capacity”.
Eligibility criteria for gun ownership in Israel now include being a citizen or permanent resident over the age of 18 and having basic command of Hebrew and medical clearance.
The full list of requirements makes it nearly impossible for non-Jews to obtain a permit.
In March, Ben-Gvir, who is himself a settler in the occupied West Bank, hailed civilian weapon ownership passing the 100,000 mark, while showing off his own gun at a rally.
It’s tragedy after tragedy. It also seems to be increasing exponentially with each passing day, especially as talks are ongoing about whether the Israeli military is downsizing its operations in Rafah.
What we’re certain about is the increase in attacks across the Gaza Strip, concentrated in the northern part of Gaza City. It’s densely populated, not only with local residents, but also with people who have been pushed from one place to another due to intense bombing campaigns from different parts of the Strip.
We’re looking at multiple air strikes targeting a residential block, these are the homes and flats of displaced Palestinians. Close to 22 people have been killed; the vast majority of them women and children.
There’s a reason for this large number of casualties; People, for the past eight months, have been pushed from one place to another because of internal enforced displacement.
On a separate attack, we’re looking at Tuffah neighborhood, that’s in the eastern part of Gaza City, (where) 19 people were killed. It’s the same pattern: entire families being obliterated wiped off the registry. We are expecting the numbers to increase. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
