On Thursday morning, day 175 of Israel’s relentless and ongoing assault on the people of Gaza, Israeli airforce drones and warplanes have continued to drop bombs on civilian areas, killing and wounding dozens in the pre-dawn hours. Israel announced the death of one soldier and the serious injury of another in a clash in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday evening, with 22 Israeli soldiers wounded and evacuated over the past 24 hours.
Al-Jazeera’s correspondent reported dozens killed and wounded as Israeli shelling continued on the northern and southern Gaza Strip, while Israel’s Channel 12 said the army had begun preparations to launch an operation in Rafah in the event of the collapse of prisoner negotiations. The correspondent said that Israeli shelling targeted a house on Al-Beltagy Street in the Shujaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza City, leaving 3 dead and 20 others wounded.
The correspondent confirmed that there were casualties as a result of an Israeli raid targeting the vicinity of the Al-Qassam Mosque in the Beit Lahia area in the northern Gaza Strip.
A civilian was also killed by the Israeli occupation army in Hamad Town, north of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip.
Israeli occupation forces launched early morning raids targeting the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip and other areas in the northern Gaza Strip, and another raid targeted the town of Al-Mughraqa, north of Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip. Israeli shelling also targeted residential buildings in the Rimal neighborhood in the center of Gaza City.
During the night, the occupying forces launched an air raid on the Beach refugee camp, west of Gaza City.
The Israeli occupation forces also launched an air strike on an electrical appliance shop in the center of Jabalya refugee camp, which led to a fire at the site.
Israeli military vehicles continued their assault on the al-Shifa Hospital, which marks day 11 of the ongoing Israeli attack on the medical facility, in direct violation of international law. In addition to armored vehicles and soldiers invading the hospital, Israeli troops also brought in a tank and fired artillery shells in the vicinity of the Shifa Medical Complex, west of Gaza City.
As eyewitness accounts have begun to emerge of the horrors of the past eleven days at al-Shifa Hospital, including the execution of medical workers, doctors and surgeons, at least two journalists were targeted for assassination by Israeli troops inside the hospital.
Horrifying firsthand accounts are emerging after Israel raided a hospital in Gaza City.
Witnesses say soldiers executed and starved detainees and forced residents in the surrounding neighborhood to flee on foot to the south. pic.twitter.com/W2twHIq6lv
— AJ+ (@ajplus) March 28, 2024
Reporters Without Borders reports that Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan has gone missing following the Israeli massacre at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/zIv0XDNkcL
— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) March 28, 2024
Mohammad Abu Sukheil, a journalist at Saut Al-Quds Radio, was shot dead by Israeli occupation forces in the Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City. pic.twitter.com/ZtFMLe3plY
— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) March 28, 2024
Meanwhile, Israel’s Channel 12 said the army had begun preparations to launch an operation in Rafah if prisoner negotiations collapse. The news channel reported that the Israeli army had begun taking concrete steps, including starting to isolate the city and preparing to evacuate civilians. The channel added that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the purchase of 40,000 tents from China to be erected in Gaza in preparation for the ground operation in Rafah.
The Qatari delegation has been working on indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel with Qatari-Egyptian mediators for days, but these negotiations have not yet led to a prisoner exchange deal.
Israel’s Channel 13 said that the administration of US President Joe Biden recently asked Israel to allow the arrival of American officers, to make plans for Rafah with Israeli army officers.
The channel added that American officers were expected to arrive soon, and quoted a senior Israeli official as saying that the United States sending officers to discuss the operation in Rafah was a sign of mistrust.
Several countries, including the United States, have asked Israel not to take any military action in Rafah without ensuring the safe evacuation of more than a million Palestinian civilians who are now sheltering there after fleeing for their lives from northern and central Gaza when Israeli troops destroyed their homes.
People in Amman and Egypt, out in numbers, for Gaza. This is even though the governments in both countries are mass arresting and attacking anyone who protests.
West Bank is on the way to its largest protest since the war began. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/1dRoZro1HK
— Fadi Quran (@fadiquran) March 28, 2024
EXECUTED IN COLD BLOOD | Horrifying footage aired by Al-Jazeera shows the Israeli army’s cold blooded execution of two unarmed Palestinians on Al-Rashid Street, Gaza City, trying to head further north.
Despite the fact that they were unarmed, waving flags and raising their hands… pic.twitter.com/PMackU7KuV
— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) March 28, 2024
