Israel loots Gaza as deadly conflict escalates
Audio 01:20
Israeli policemen in Lod, May 13, 201. © REUTERS - CORINNA KERN
Text by: RFI Follow
9 mins
Clashes between Israel and Hamas continue.
Bombings in Gaza, rocket fire against Israeli territory ... Four days after the start of the escalation, the toll is heavy: 7 Israeli dead, 103 including 27 children on the side of the Palestinians in Gaza, where the situation is dramatic.
At the same time in Lod, intercommunal violence continues to rage.
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With our correspondent in the Palestinian Territories,
Alice Froussard
, and our special
correspondent in Lod,
Sami Boukhelifa
Shortly after midnight on Thursday, May 13, Palestinian armed groups again fired rockets from the Gaza Strip, while the Israeli air force continued its bombardments of Hamas sites.
Hundreds of Palestinian residents had to quickly flee their homes and reach shelters to escape the strikes.
You never get used to bombing or to war.
We haven't slept for two days.
Wahiba Abou Moutlak, French teacher in Gaza
Murielle Paradon
Maalak Mattar, 21, is a young artist from Gaza. “
I feel that the more time passes, the less chance there is of survival,
” she says.
Every night we think it will be the night, the worst night. There is no more hope, and the dominant feeling is fear. And all of this is extremely damaging to our health.
"
Maalak Mattar explains that it took him "
seven years to repair these wounds since the war of 2014
". "
And then it all comes back again, only worse
," she exclaims.
And we Palestinians in Gaza are afraid of ourselves. Because there, I ask myself the question: if I get killed there, what happens? Nothing
! Will Israel be held responsible? He never would be. I no longer have any hope for the situation. Thinking about how easy it is to kill people… and nothing happens. It's happening
. "
On Thursday evening, the Gaza Strip was on the verge of an attack from the Israeli army, according to an official announcement.
But two hours later, backpedaling: the staff evokes an error in "
internal communication
" and now claims to fight territory from outside.
►Also read: After saying it entered the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army retracts
Intercommunal violence in mixed towns
At the same time, this Thursday evening, violence also broke out in several mixed towns.
Almost 1,000 members of the border police were called in as reinforcements.
In the past three days, more than 400 people, Jews and Arabs, have been arrested.
This intercommunal violence plunges the country into chaos.
A state of emergency has been declared in Lod.
A nighttime curfew is also in effect in this city located halfway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
This Thursday at 8 p.m., the Israeli police helicopter flies over the city of Lod, at low altitude.
It's the start of the curfew.
However, young Arabs, Muslims and Christians are still gathered at the foot of their mosque and the adjoining church, reports
our special envoy
,
Sami Boukhelifa
.
Hooded, they claim to be on guard.
"
Every day, supremacist Jews cry out: 'Death to the Arabs!'
They attacked us.
And they threaten us too.
They say: "We are going to burn your mosques and your places of worship"
, denounces one of them.
These supremacist Jews are settlers from the occupied West Bank in droves.
This week one of them shot dead an Israeli Arab.
Yet Avitai assures him that he and his friends are only there to defend their community from “
Arab aggressors
”.
“
Show me a single Jew who would have harmed an Arab.
A Jew would never attack an Arab.
I have a friend who lives here and he is shaking with fear.
He is terrified by these events.
I am here to protect him.
I want peace but the Arabs create problems,
”he assures us.
In the city, bursts of fire echoed.
Some settlers are armed.
"
We are too,
" says an Israeli Arab.
The police are massively deployed but do not seem to be able to identify the origin of the shots.
There has been no massive fire since 2014. Which means that for the past seven years, Hamas has had time to supplement its stocks and manufacture new rockets.
Pierre Razoux, academic director of the Mediterranean Foundation for Strategic Studies
Murielle Paradon
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Ganz ordered a "
massive build-up
" of the security forces to end the violence.
Two infantry divisions and tanks and armored vehicles were deployed on Thursday along the Palestinian territory.
The army has also received the green light to mobilize nearly 7,000 reservists if necessary.
► Also to listen: Middle East: "No pacification can come from the actors present"
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