Diplomatic efforts are intensifying to stop the aggression on the Gaza Strip

Diplomatic efforts are intensifying to stop the aggression on the Gaza Strip

Gaza - “Jerusalem” dot com- (AFP) - The international community is intensifying its diplomatic efforts Tuesday to stop the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and the rocket fire operations against Israel, with an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to stop the bloody escalation that has continued for a week.
Since the beginning of this new episode of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip on May 10, 213 Palestinians, including two doctors and at least 61 children, have been martyred, in addition to more than 1,400 wounded, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
On the Israeli side, 12 people were killed and 309 wounded when rockets were fired from Gaza.
The Israeli air force´s raids continued at night on the Gaza Strip, and shortly after midnight, fighters dropped several missiles at buildings in Gaza City, causing explosions, according to AFP journalists.
The occupation army announced in a tweet that it had counted ninety rocket launches from the Gaza Strip between 19:00 Monday and 7:00 Tuesday at Israeli territory, and that it had bombed "65 targets with 67 warplanes."
At a time when the Security Council meets for the fourth time, the United States continues to refuse to endorse a statement on the Israeli aggression and resistance missiles calling for a "cessation of violence."
US President Joe Biden, who is accused in his circles of lacking firmness toward Israel, expressed his support for a ceasefire during a phone call with Benjamin Netanyahu.
But confrontations continued, and Netanyahu said Monday evening, "To continue hitting terrorist targets."
The night bombing hit a two-story house.
"I was asleep when the neighbors informed me of the army´s warning. It was a violent and terrifying night," said Nazmi al-Dahdouh, 70-year-old owner of the house.
He added, "What happened was the height of injustice. They displaced me and my family. There is great damage and damage to all the neighboring houses."
The Israeli bombing left potholes in the roads in some locations and caused severe damage to the electrical grid, which led to the plunging of the Strip into darkness. The electricity company said on Monday that it had enough fuel for a maximum of two or three days.
The occupation air forces launched dozens of raids on Sunday night, Monday, on the Gaza Strip, which caused damage, especially to a clinic that is the only one that conducts tests to detect Covid-19 infection, the offices of the Qatar Red Crescent and the Ministry of Health buildings in the poor and besieged Gaza Strip for nearly 15 years.
After the Kerem Shalom crossing was reopened on Tuesday for a few hours with the aim of bringing in aid, the Israeli Governmental Activities Coordination Unit (COGAT) confirmed that it was closed due to mortar shells fired in its direction and towards the Erez crossing.
On another front, several rockets were fired Monday evening from southern Lebanon towards Israel, which responded by firing artillery at the sources of fire, according to security sources in the two countries.
On Tuesday, the general strike spread to the cities of the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, the cities of the interior in response to popular and official calls in solidarity with the Gaza Strip and rejecting the Israeli occupation.
All commercial stores and private sectors except for medical centers closed their doors, while working hours in the educational sector at all levels were suspended.
The Palestinian government announced the suspension of work on Tuesday so that employees could participate in the rallies, while Fatah, in a statement, called on the Palestinians to participate in marches and demonstrations that would start from city centers and the "peaceful" confrontation with the occupation army and settlers Tuesday.
All non-essential Palestinian businesses in the cities of the West Bank and East Jerusalem were closed and large demonstrations began in the afternoon, including at the tension point at the Amoud Gate entrance to the Old City.
"We are here to raise our voice and stand with the people in Gaza who are being bombed," demonstrator Aya Dabour in Ramallah told AFP.
The escalation began with clashes that took place in Jerusalem, which prompted the armed factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, to launch rockets towards Israel, which is the highest frequency of launching rockets targeting the Israeli occupation.
The issue of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, where a number of Palestinian families face the risk of being forcibly displaced from their homes in favor of settlement associations, has fueled the current escalation, whose circle has expanded to include Al-Aqsa Mosque, the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Unprecedented acts of violence are being recorded inside Israel, especially in "mixed" cities where Jews and Palestinians from the interior cities live after the killing of a Palestinian by a settler last week.
Tuesday, the occupation army claimed that it had “thwarted” an attack against its soldiers in Hebron, and the Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed the martyrdom of a citizen, bringing the number of Palestinian martyrs in the West Bank since last week to 21.
At a time when the truce faltered, the Elysee Palace announced that French President Emmanuel Macron and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi would conduct videoconferences with Jordanian King Abdullah II, seeking to mediate the escalation between Israel and the Palestinians "with the goal of achieving a quick ceasefire and avoiding the expansion of the conflict."
The United Nations, with the help of Qatar and Egypt, also launched an initiative aimed at containing the escalation.
Brussels will also discuss the ongoing confrontations, the fiercest since the summer of 2014, during an emergency meeting held by European Union foreign ministers on Tuesday via video link.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said he had spoken to his Israeli counterpart and the Egyptian government on Monday, and that his country was engaging in a "calm and intense" diplomacy.
In Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, President Mahmoud Abbas urged the US envoy, Hadi Amr, upon his reception on Monday, on the necessity of “the American administration’s intervention to put an end to the Israeli aggression,” according to Wafa.