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On the 177th day of the war, the Israeli occupation forces bombed many areas in the Gaza Strip, continuing to target civilians, resulting in new martyrs.
Also in field developments, fierce battles are taking place between the Palestinian resistance and the Israeli occupation army in the cities of Gaza and Khan Yunis.
Politically, an Israeli delegation is heading to Cairo to discuss a possible exchange deal with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), while the Israeli police have raised their state of alert in anticipation of the escalation of demonstrations demanding early elections and a prisoner exchange agreement.
Resistance operations
The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, announced that it had killed an Israeli soldier in the vicinity of the Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City after sniping him and wounding him directly.
The Al-Qassam Brigades also announced that its fighters targeted an Israeli “Merkava” tank with a “Shawaz” device in the city of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip.
As for the Al-Quds Brigades - the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement - it announced that it bombed with mortar shells a gathering of Israeli occupation soldiers and vehicles in Al-Qarara, northeast of Khan Yunis, and a command headquarters in the vicinity of the Al-Shifa Complex.
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Occupation massacres and a new toll of martyrs
The Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that 77 Palestinians, including journalists, were killed, and 108 others were injured in 8 massacres committed by the Israeli occupation army in various areas in the Gaza Strip during the past 24 hours. The occupation also claimed to bomb resistance fighters at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the center of the Strip.
For his part, the Israeli army spokesman said that the Air Force raided about 80 targets in different areas of the Gaza Strip during the last 24 hours.
As the occupation forces continued to besiege Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City, footage showed Israeli bombing, with sounds of clashes being heard in the vicinity of the complex at dawn on Sunday.
In the latest toll announced by the Ministry of Health in Gaza - Sunday - it said that the number of victims of the aggression rose to 32,782 martyrs and 75,300 wounded.
The Ministry said that a number of victims are still trapped under rubble and on the roads, and ambulance and civil defense crews are unable to reach them.
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Targeting civilians
On the other hand, a senior Israeli officer said - on Sunday - that the four young men who were targeted by an Israeli drone in Khan Yunis were unarmed, and did not expose the Israeli forces to danger in the area in which they were walking, according to what was reported by Haaretz newspaper.
This comes after Al Jazeera broadcast scenes obtained from an Israeli drone showing the targeting of Palestinian civilians in the Al-Sikka area in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, at the beginning of last February.
The Israeli officer described this incident as very dangerous, and did not rule out that the young men were searching for food. The officer also acknowledged that the occupation army had established execution zones in Gaza, and anyone who crossed them would be shot.
A group of reserve occupation army commanders and Israeli leaders - who spoke to the newspaper "Haaretz" - doubted the claim that all of them were armed. It is very likely that Palestinians who had never carried a weapon in their lives were included in this classification after their death, at least by the Israeli army.
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Netanyahu says that his government approved operational plans to invade the city of Rafah (Reuters)
Netanyahu pledges to enter Rafah
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced - on Sunday evening - that his government had approved operational plans to invade the city of Rafah, the southernmost city of the Gaza Strip on the border with Egypt.
In a press conference before undergoing surgery on Sunday evening, Netanyahu said, "We will enter Rafah and eliminate Hamas, and without that, there is no victory." He added, "The Israeli government is working to evacuate the population before storming Rafah, and we will enter the city despite the opposition of US President Joe Biden."
Netanyahu claimed that the information obtained by Israeli soldiers in the Shifa Hospital operation helps determine the location of the militants.
Netanyahu claims that Rafah is the last stronghold of the Hamas movement, and insists on invading it despite mounting regional and international warnings of catastrophic repercussions, in light of the presence of about 1.4 million Palestinians in the city, the majority of whom are displaced.
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Hamdan: The occupation did not provide any commitments in its responses (Al Jazeera)
No new negotiations
Regarding prisoner exchange negotiations, Hamas leader Osama Hamdan confirmed - in an interview with Al Jazeera on Sunday - that there is no talk yet about any new round of negotiations, after reports that the Israeli delegation will arrive in Cairo on Sunday evening to discuss the exchange deal.
He added that the occupation did not make any commitments in its responses, and its answers were an attempt to procrastinate with regard to the basic points that Hamas wants answers to, which are stopping the aggression, withdrawing from Gaza, the return of the displaced to the north, and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
He said that Israel only wants to recover its prisoners and continue the aggression in an open manner, stressing that the American position contributes to covering up Israeli "intransigence."
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Israeli demonstrations
Thousands of Israelis flocked - on Sunday - to demonstrate in the vicinity of government headquarters and in front of the Knesset headquarters in the occupied city of Jerusalem, to demand the return of the prisoners, a deal with Hamas, and the dismissal of the government.
Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that the demonstrators set up tents for a sit-in in front of the Knesset headquarters, and also hung banners holding Netanyahu responsible for the lives of those detained by Hamas, and demanding the departure of the government, which they described as a government of destruction and devastation.
She added that the families of the Israeli prisoners detained in Gaza are continuing their sit-in in front of the Knesset for the second day, and that they will continue their demonstrations for 4 days, stressing that the police have closed some main streets.
Israeli Channel 12 also said that the police deployed hundreds of its members in Jerusalem, in preparation for the demonstrations.
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Press coverage: Occupation forces stormed the village of Madama, south of Nablus, a short while ago pic.twitter.com/z2l8ZWu1dT
- Quds News Network (@qudsn) March 31, 2024
Raids and arrests in the West Bank
In the occupied West Bank, the occupation forces stormed Balata camp, east of Nablus, and launched raids and arrest campaigns in areas in Hebron.
Clashes also broke out in the camp between the occupation forces and resistance fighters, which resulted in a young Palestinian man being slightly injured. The occupation forces had sent military reinforcements from several directions towards the camp, and closed it, before withdrawing.
The occupation forces stormed areas in Hebron Governorate, raiding the towns of Sa'ir and Shuyoukh, amid confrontations during which the occupation forces fired live bullets, sound bombs, and tear gas.
The occupation forces also raided the town of Beit Ummar and the city of Yatta, and stormed the town of Marah Rabah, south of Bethlehem.
In Tubas, eyewitnesses reported that Palestinians clashed with the occupation forces during their withdrawal from the Tayasir checkpoint, east of the city.
In a related development, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club said that the occupation has arrested at least 25 Palestinians from the West Bank since Saturday, including 6 women who were later released.
The arrests were distributed among the governorates of Jerusalem, Hebron, Bethlehem, Jenin, Tubas, and Qalqilya.
The Prisoners' Affairs Authority and the Palestinian Prisoners' Club said - in a joint statement - that the total number of arrests since October 7 reached 7,895.
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A Hezbollah leader was killed
On the Lebanese front, Hezbollah confirmed - on Sunday - the killing of one of its fighters, after the Israeli army announced that it had killed a leader in the party in an air strike on a car in the town of Kunine, southern Lebanon.
The Israeli army added - in a statement - that the leader is called Ismail Al-Zein, and he is a senior official in the anti-tank missile unit of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force.
The Israeli army reported that in the past hours it had monitored the launching of rockets from Lebanese territory to the Margaliot and Al-Malikiyah areas in the Upper Galilee, adding that it had attacked the sources of the firing.
He added that as a result of the launches from Lebanese territory, an Israeli soldier was slightly injured, and was taken to hospital for treatment, as a result of a missile fired from southern Lebanon falling on the Kiryat Shmona area in the Upper Galilee.
In a related development, Al Jazeera’s correspondent said that the Israeli defense system fired two interceptor missiles from the Upper Galilee in the occupied Shebaa Farms, confirming that 3 missiles were launched towards an Israeli site in the Shebaa Farms.
Hezbollah announced that it had attacked, with assault drones, the Israeli Barkhta artillery position and the deployment of occupation soldiers in the Shebaa Farms, noting that it had achieved direct hits.
Hezbollah also said - in separate statements - that it targeted the Ramim barracks and the Zabdin site with artillery shells and the Al-Malikiyah site with “Burkan” missiles, and it also bombed the Ruwaisat Al-Alam site in the occupied Kfar Shuba hills.
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Source: Al Jazeera + agencies