The night sky in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City was torn apart by bombardment from Israeli warplanes in the early hours of Sunday morning. A group of homes was completely destroyed, killing at least 25 family members and burying dozens in the rubble. This community has become a target of the Israeli army as early as the end of August, when Israeli tanks began to advance into the area. It is widely believed that this is part of their plan to destroy and occupy the area.
The Call of Rescue in the Ruins: Tragedy and Despair
After the bombing, the Sabra community was in a wreckage, and the rescue work was difficult between the rubble walls. Due to the lack of professional equipment, rescue personnel and people could only dig in vain. As of now, 17 people have been successfully rescued, but there are still calls for rescue from those trapped on the scene.
“We hear their screams, but we can’t contact them.”A family member at the scene called out to the outside world: “I ask the world to reach out for help, and our loved ones are waiting for help in the rubble.”
Even more painful, the rescue operations were interrupted. According to witnesses, Israeli drones repeatedly fired at rescue personnel and each time we tried to approach the ruins, the drones fired. Only one of the five nearby people survived.
In a video circulated on the Internet, a mother cried and cried. “My kids are gone!”Her sorrow kept the surrounding crowd silent for a long time.
Attacks on many places in Gaza: Death toll continues to rise
The tragedy in the Sabra community is not unique. Early on Sunday, Israel also launched intense airstrikes on several areas of Gaza City. Saudi refugee camps in the west, the Talhawa neighborhood in the southwest, and residential houses in the Nasr district were targeted. In the center of the refugee camp in Bruges, an airstrike killed seven people, including four children. The attack even occurred near a clinic operated by the UN Near East Relief Agency.
According to statistics from the Gaza health department, Israeli attacks have killed at least 68 people since dawn on Sunday alone. Since the outbreak of the war in October last year, Gaza has killed more than 650,000 people and wounded more than 160,000.
At the same time, the hunger problem has also worsened.Statistically, four people have died of hunger in the last day.Since the outbreak of the war, the hunger has killed 440 people, including 147 children.
The plight of displacement: Gaza with no escape
The humanitarian crisis has intensified in Gaza. Reporters from the Peninsula Television in Nasserat refugee camp in central Gaza have that many Palestinians are unwilling to leave even in shelters because of drone attacks.
The Israeli army claims that more than 450,000 people have been forced to leave Gaza City since September, but statistics from Gaza local authorities show that the actual number of displaced people is less than 300,000, with another 900,000 staying in Gaza City.
Despite repeated international calls for an end to violence, Israel continues to bomb and destroy buildings in Gaza in an attempt to force more Palestinians to flee their homes. Meanwhile, the Israeli military is also conducting large-scale ground offensives in Gaza City and the north, claiming to have “killed several terrorists” in the last 24 hours.
International community calls to oppose forced migration and support the establishment of a Palestinian state
In the face of the catastrophic situation in Gaza, the international community has taken a voice.Pope Leo publicly stated on Sunday that he opposes Israel’s forced displacement of Gaza civilians: “There is no future built on violence and forced displacement.”
Meanwhile, Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal have officially announced their recognition of the establishment of a Palestinian state, a statement released two days before the opening of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Foreign Minister Shahin welcomed the recognition of these countries and condemned Israel’s actions as “a systematic attack on human structures aimed at wiping out the survival and future of the Palestinian people.”
The residents of Sabra who cry out for help in the ruins are the reflection of tens of millions of ordinary people in Gaza.Their homes are being destroyed, and their loved ones are being deprived.
Behind this disaster are the multiple dilemmas faced by the people of Gaza: war, hunger, displacement, and the slow action of the international community.The overlap of these issues is pushing Gaza into the humanitarian abyss.
But at the end of the disappointment, there is hope.The acts of recognition by the international community, which could not change the fate of Gaza immediately, released a signal that the future of Palestine still has a chance to be rewritten.
The sky in Gaza is still filled with smoke, but people's cries and persistence are striving for a glimmer of light for this land. As the mother who cried in the ruins said, "Please don't let us be forgotten."