Civilian Casualties Grow in Israeli Attacks
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza buzzes with activity, as dozens of Palestinians rush in with injuries from artillery fire.
Usually, patients feel protected in the hospital, but not on Friday morning, after the news spread that an Israeli tank shell hit a hospital in Beit Hanoun.
“The moment I see Israeli missiles shelling hospitals, I get more concerned that we are not safe either,” says 57-year-old Abu Iyad, who lives less than one kilometre from the Israeli tanks positioned along the border in Beit Lahiya.
Israel’s military dropped leaflets asking residents to leave their homes on Thursday. The leaflets arrived as Israel launched a ground operation into the besieged Gaza Strip, pushing deeper into the territory at five separate entry points. Israel said the aim of the operation was to destroy tunnels and rocket-launching sites in Gaza.
Israel struck more than 100 separate sites in Gaza overnight on Thursday, in the first hours of its ground operation.
So far, Israeli forces have not gone further than two kilometres inside Gaza. But the number of Palestinian civilian casualties has risen, as more than 280 Palestinians have now been killed in 11 days of violence. Another 1,900 Palestinians have been injured, as civilians have borne the brunt of the violence so far.
“It seems neither [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu nor [US President Barack] Obama want to know that it’s we civilians who are the targets - resistance is our last resort to gain freedom and breathe some air into our lungs,” Abu Iyad told Al Jazeera.
Late on Friday, constant shelling could be heard across the Gaza Strip, as Israeli F16s struck buildings across the territory, and warships fired missiles from their positions just offshore.
