Washington agrees to sell weapons of $ 735 million to Israel

Dozens of Israeli raids on Gaza and the fighting enter the second week

Two Palestinians retrieve a body from an Israeli strike site in Gaza.

Reuters

Israel carried out dozens of air strikes on the Palestinian Gaza Strip, while the "Hamas" movement continued rocket attacks on Israeli cities in fighting that entered its second week yesterday. Witnesses said that the Israeli attacks targeted security roads, buildings, training camps and homes. Explosions sounded in many areas of the country. The Palestinian sector, while the US administration agreed to sell precision weapons worth $ 735 million to Israel.

The "Islamic Jihad" movement announced the killing of the leader of the Northern Brigade in the Al-Quds Brigades, the movement's military wing, Hussam Abu Hurbid, in a raid targeting his car. Missiles against Israel and shooting at its soldiers. ”

The strikes that rocked Gaza City caused the power outages, according to an AFP journalist.

Hundreds of buildings were damaged, according to local authorities.

In a statement, the Israeli army stated that it had targeted nine homes used for “weapons storage” belonging to Hamas leaders, explaining that 54 combat aircraft bombed tunnels, part of them passing through civilian areas, explaining that “about 100 kilometers of a network of tunnels established by the Movement ( Hamas (underground). ”

Yesterday morning, AFP correspondents monitored huge plumes of smoke rising from the FOMCO factory, east of Jabalia camp. According to a statement by the Civil Defense, the factory had been targeted by "incendiary phosphorous shells and smoke bombs, which led to the outbreak of large fires inside the warehouses."

Since May 10, more than 200 Palestinians have been killed, including at least 59 children. On the Israeli side, 10 people have been killed, including a child.

In Gaza, the Ministry of Works said that "more than 10,000 housing units were damaged due to the ongoing aggression, including 800 completely destroyed." While the Gaza Electricity Company said that the available quantities of fuel were sufficient for two or three days at the maximum.

The Ministry of Education indicated that about 35 schools were damaged, while the Ministry of Agriculture announced initial losses exceeding $ 20 million.

The United Nations World Food Program said it is providing emergency aid to more than 51,000 people in northern Gaza, and has launched an appeal for $ 46 million to support its work there.

The World Health Organization stressed the need to protect the health infrastructure and the medical staff in Gaza, while the European Union described Israel's destruction of press offices in the Gaza Strip as a matter of great concern.

In addition, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, upon his meeting with US envoy Hadi Amr, yesterday called for "an end to the criminal and brutal Israeli escalation on the Gaza Strip."

Abbas held the Israeli government responsible for the escalation in Gaza, and stressed the need for the American administration to intervene to "put an end to the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people everywhere, and start efforts to reach a political solution based on international legitimacy decisions."

The President of the United Nations General Assembly Volkan Bozkir announced that a meeting will be held the day after tomorrow to discuss the violence, after the association received a request to hold a public meeting in light of the seriousness of the situation and its rapid deterioration.

Yesterday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called on Israel and the Palestinians "to protect civilians, especially children," and said during his visit to Copenhagen: "We will continue intensive diplomatic efforts to put an end to this cycle of violence."

We are ready to provide our support if the parties want to reach a ceasefire. ”

He reaffirmed "the United States' support for Israel's right to defend itself," he said.

Yesterday, the White House announced that the United States wants to stop the escalation of Israeli-Palestinian violence as soon as possible and end the conflict. The US National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, explained on the social networking site "Twitter" that he had spoken with his Israeli counterpart and the Egyptian government, and said: "The United States is engaged in quiet and intense diplomacy, and our efforts will continue."

A German government spokesman said that Chancellor Angela Merkel told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a phone call yesterday, that she hopes for an urgent end to the Israeli-Palestinian fighting, while the French presidency announced that France and Egypt discussed the Gaza crisis and agreed to continue efforts to declare a truce. Quick, and avoid the spread of conflict, and the Elysee statement was issued after French President Emmanuel Macron received his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Paris, yesterday.

The administration of US President Joe Biden agreed to sell precision-guided weapons worth $ 735 million to Israel. The Washington Post reported yesterday that a number of Democratic House of Representatives in Congress expressed their opposition to the deal, after Congress was notified of this deal on the fifth. From this May.

• Abbas calls for Washington to intervene and stop the Israeli escalation ... and Blinken calls for the protection of civilians.

• 10 thousand housing units in Gaza were damaged by the Israeli bombing.

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