The ruins of Al-Farouq Mosque in Rafah, which was destroyed by the bombing of the Israeli occupation forces (Anatolia)
On the 139th day of the war, the Israeli occupation continues its aggression against the Gaza Strip, leaving martyrs and wounded, especially in Rafah and Khan Yunis, south of Gaza, amid warnings from international relief agencies of a disaster in the Strip.
On the other hand, the Palestinian resistance inflicted many losses on the occupation.
The Al-Qassam Brigades - the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) - said that it destroyed an Israeli troop carrier in Khan Yunis, killing and wounding its crew. It also targeted an Israeli Merkava tank with an “Al-Yassin 105” shell in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood.
For its part, the Al-Quds Brigades - the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement - bombed the Gaza Strip with a missile salvo.
Bombing and martyrs
Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that 22 people were killed and dozens injured, in addition to a number of missing persons, in Israeli raids that simultaneously targeted homes in the central Gaza Strip, especially in the Bureij and Nuseirat camps.
The occupation aircraft also launched raids on Beit Hanoun and the Tal Al-Zaatar area in the Jabalia camp, north of the Gaza Strip.
One person was martyred and others were injured in an Israeli bombing of a building belonging to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) housing displaced persons in the Jabalia camp in the northern Gaza Strip. There were also 6 injuries among children in an Israeli bombing of a house in the Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army announced that its forces destroyed a tunnel path in the Khan Yunis area, while Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari confirmed that military operations are continuing throughout the Gaza Strip.
more details
Rafah under bombardment
Israeli occupation army aircraft and artillery also intensively bombed the residential neighborhoods of Rafah, which are crowded with displaced people in the southern Gaza Strip.
Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that Israeli fighters destroyed Al-Farouq Mosque in the middle of Al-Shaboura camp, and the bombing led to the complete destruction of the mosque and damage to the houses adjacent to it.
Israeli aircraft also bombed 5 other mosques, causing the death of 6 Palestinians, the injury of others, and the loss of a number of others.
This comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Bloomberg that the Israeli army is currently preparing a plan to evacuate the residents of Rafah, and will present it soon, stressing that “Israel has one simple goal in the Gaza Strip, which is to eliminate the Hamas movement and release our hostages, and we will not despair even.” We achieve complete victory."
more details
China's representative: Israel does not have the right to defend itself because its occupation of Palestinian lands is illegal (European)
Court hearings
At the international level, several countries - Thursday - during the ongoing hearings at the International Court of Justice in The Hague denounced the continued Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and its violation of international law.
Today, the court heard the interventions of many representatives of countries, including China, Iraq, Iran, Libya and Kuwait, and 52 countries are scheduled to give their opinions during the sessions on the legal consequences of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.
The public hearings began last Monday and will continue for a week, based on the resolution issued by the United Nations General Assembly at the end of 2022.
China's spokesman said before the International Court of Justice that armed resistance is a right of colonized peoples and does not contradict international law.
He added that Israel does not have the right to defend itself because its occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal, while it reserves the right to take some security measures.
The Chinese spokesman added that achieving justice for the Palestinian issue was long overdue, and that it should not be denied.
more details
American messages regarding the deal
The Axios news website quoted informed sources as saying that US envoy Brett McGurk informed the Israelis of the necessity of reaching an agreement with Hamas and sending a delegation to the Paris talks.
McGurk - who is currently visiting Tel Aviv - told the Israeli side that the administration of President Joe Biden sees an urgent need to reach a prisoner exchange deal due to the conditions of Israeli detainees and the approaching month of Ramadan.
According to the same sources, the American official urged Israel to send a delegation to the Paris talks scheduled for Friday with the participation of CIA Director William Burns and Qatari and Egyptian officials.
The Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported that Benjamin Netanyahu's government will grant its negotiating delegation broader powers.
The Israeli Walla website said that the War Council authorized the Israeli delegation to Paris to conduct negotiations and not just listen.
more details
Operation in Jerusalem
On Thursday morning, an Israeli soldier was killed and 8 others were injured of varying severity in an operation carried out by Palestinians at a military checkpoint near the Maale Adumim settlement, east of occupied Jerusalem.
The Israeli police said that they killed two of the attackers at the scene and killed a third after pursuing him, noting that the condition of 3 of the injured Israelis was critical.
For its part, the Israeli General Security Service (Shin Bet) stated that the perpetrators;
They are: Muhammad and Kazem Zawahra from the village of Beit Ta’amr, east of Bethlehem (south of the West Bank), and Ahmed Al-Wahsh from Za’atara, south of the governorate.
In the Palestinian reactions, Hamas said that it blesses what it described as the heroic operation, considering that this is a natural response to the occupation’s massacres and crimes in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
For its part, the Islamic Jihad movement said that this operation comes within the framework of the legitimate right of the Palestinian people to defend their sanctities and land.
The movement called on the Palestinian people to continue on the path of resistance to confront the plans of the occupation, arming the settlers, targeting Al-Aqsa Mosque, and denouncing Palestinian blood.
more details
Struck claimed that the Palestinians have no right to establish their own state (Israeli press)
"There is no people"
On the other hand, Israeli Settlement Minister Orit Struck claimed that there is no Palestinian people and that the Palestinians have no right to establish a state of their own, in conjunction with the leak of information about the imminent announcement of an American-Arab plan to activate the principle of the two-state solution.
In a speech at the Knesset, Struck said, "Everyone in the world knows that this is our land. It is the land of Israel and ours only."
She added, "For this reason, there will never be a Palestinian state in the Land of Israel, because there is no Palestinian people, there is no such people," as she put it.
more details
The Houthis escalate their attacks
On another front, the leader of the Ansar Allah group (Houthis), Abdul Malik al-Houthi, said that they are moving to escalate their attacks in exchange for the Israeli escalation in Gaza.
The Houthi leader stated that "the operations in support of Gaza in the Red and Arabian Bahrain, the Gulf of Aden, and the Bab al-Mandab Strait are continuing, and we are heading towards escalation," noting that the number of ships targeted reached 48.
Al-Houthi confirmed that the group has introduced "submarine weapons" into its operations, which is disturbing to the enemy, as he put it.
The US Army had indicated a few days ago that the Houthis had used undersea drones.
Leader of the Ansar Allah group: Operations in the Red Sea continue with the United States insisting on continuing the genocide in #Gaza, and our operations will be escalated in quantity and quality #Gaza_War pic.twitter.com/d5JNr6pZIF
- Al Jazeera Channel (@AJArabic) February 22, 2024
The Houthi leader said that they had achieved an "information achievement" that surprised their enemies by obtaining information on the identity of the ship owners, their affiliation, and their destination. He challenged the United States to prove that the targeted ships were not of the declared classification and that they did not belong to the Americans, the British, or the Israelis.
Also in his speech, Al-Houthi said, "The maritime situation stopped 40% of the enemy's maritime commercial traffic and affected it by shrinking its economy and declining its exports and imports."
Reuters reported today that the Houthis informed marine insurance companies that ships owned wholly or partly by Israeli individuals or entities and ships flying the Israeli flag are prohibited from passing through the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea, as well as ships owned by American or British individuals or entities or those sailing under the flag. United States or British flag.
On the other hand, Houthi media sources said that American and British forces targeted the Al-Jabanah area, west of Hodeidah, on the western coast of Yemen, with four new raids.
more details
The first moments after an Israeli bombing targeted the town of Kafr Rumman in Nabatieh, south of #Lebanon #Gaza_War #Video pic.twitter.com/hnj9VLaiSo
- Al Jazeera Palestine (@AJA_Palestine) February 22, 2024
Two dead in southern Lebanon
In a continuation of the escalation on the Lebanese-Israeli border, Hezbollah announced the implementation of 7 attacks on Israeli sites, including the headquarters of the Eastern Brigade in Kiryat Shmona.
On the other hand, the Israeli occupation forces launched raids on several areas in southern Lebanon, where the Civil Defense announced that two people were killed and 3 others were injured near Nabatieh.
For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his goal in the north is to "restore security and return the population by military or political means."
more details
Source: Al Jazeera + agencies