New day, new Gaza massacre
GAZA/GENEVA: Zionist planes and tanks struck heavily in north and south Gaza on Tuesday, destroying clusters of homes, ahead of a planned trip to Washington by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expected to discuss a possible ceasefire. Thousands of Gaza residents again took flight as the Zionist entity issued new orders to evacuate, while its tanks pushed into eastern areas of Gaza City in the north and into Khan Younis and Rafah in the south, residents said.
Local health authorities said Zionist gunfire and military strikes across the enclave had killed at least 116 people and wounded more than 460 in the past 24 hours, with clusters of houses reported destroyed in Gaza City's Shujaiya and Zeitoun districts, east of Khan Yunis and in Rafah.
US President Donald Trump said he is hopeful that a ceasefire-for-captives agreement can be achieved next week. 'We hope it's going to happen. And we're looking forward to it happening sometime next week,' he told reporters as he departed the White House for a day trip to Florida. 'We want to get the hostages out.'
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said pressure by Trump on the Zionist entity would be key to any breakthrough in stalled ceasefire efforts. 'We call upon the US administration to atone for its sin towards Gaza by declaring an end to the war,' he said. Hamas official Taher Al-Nunu told AFP the group is 'ready to agree to any proposal if it will lead to an end to the war and a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of occupation forces'. 'So far, there has been no breakthrough.'
Meanwhile, a UN expert has named over 60 companies, including major arms manufacturers and technology firms, in a report alleging their involvement in supporting Zionist settlements and military actions in Gaza, which she called a 'genocidal campaign'. Italian human rights lawyer Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, compiled the report based on over 200 submissions from states, human rights defenders, companies and academics.
Ismail, a resident of the Sheikh Radwan suburb of Gaza City, told Reuters that newly displaced families were setting up tents in the road, after fleeing from areas north and east of the city and finding no other ground available. 'We don't sleep because of the sounds of explosions from tanks and planes. The occupation is destroying homes east of Gaza, in Jabalia and other places around us,' he said.
Raafat Halles, 39, from Shujaiya, said 'air strikes and shelling have intensified over the past week', and tanks have been advancing. 'I believe that every time negotiations or a potential ceasefire are mentioned, the army escalates crimes and massacres on the ground,' he said. 'I don't know why.'
Amer Daloul, a 44-year-old resident of Gaza City, also reported fiercer clashes between Zionist forces and fighters in recent days, telling AFP that he and his family were forced to flee the tent they were living in at dawn on Tuesday 'due to heavy and random gunfire and shelling'. In the southern city of Rafah, resident Mohammed Abdel Aal, 41, said 'tanks are present' in most parts of town.
Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that eight people were killed near aid distribution sites in central and southern Gaza Tuesday, in the latest in a long-running spate of deadly attacks on those seeking food. One person was killed and 50 wounded when tanks and drones opened fire as crowds were waiting to collect aid near the Wadi Gaza Bridge in the middle of the territory, Bassal said. The civil defense said another six people were killed nearby while trying to reach the same aid center. At least one more person was killed near another aid centre in Rafah, the civil defense said.
A group of 169 aid organizations called Monday for an end to Gaza's 'deadly' new US- and Zionist-backed aid distribution scheme, which they said forced starving civilians to 'trek for hours through dangerous terrain and active conflict zones, only to face a violent, chaotic race' for food. They urged a return to the UN-led aid mechanism that existed until March, when the Zionist entity imposed a full blockade on humanitarian assistance entering Gaza during an impasse in truce talks with Hamas.
The Zionist army said it had also opened a review into a strike on a seafront Gaza cafe on Monday that killed 24 people. Maher Al-Baqa, 40, the brother of the owner of the cafe, told AFP that several of his relatives including two nephews were killed in the strike. 'It's one of the most well-known cafes on the Gaza coast, frequented by educated youth, journalists, artists, doctors, engineers and hardworking people,' he said. 'They used to feel free and safe there — it was like a second home to them.'
The report by Albanese, published late Monday, calls for companies to cease dealings with the Zionist entity and for legal accountability for executives implicated in alleged violations of international law. 'While life in Gaza is being obliterated and the West Bank is under escalating assault, this report shows why (the Zionist entity's) genocide continues: Because it is lucrative for many,' Albanese wrote in the 27-page document. She accused corporate entities of being 'financially bound to (the Zionist entity's) apartheid and militarism.'
The Zionist entity's mission in Geneva said the report was 'legally groundless, defamatory and a flagrant abuse of her office'. The report groups the companies by sector, for example military or technology. It said around 15 companies responded directly to Albanese's office but did not publish their replies. It names arms firms such as Lockheed Martin and Leonardo, alleging their weaponry has been used in Gaza. It also lists heavy machinery suppliers Caterpillar Inc and HD Hyundai, claiming their equipment has contributed to property destruction in Palestinian territories.
Technology giants Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft and IBM were named as 'central to (the Zionist entity's) surveillance apparatus and the ongoing Gaza destruction'. Palantir Technologies was also mentioned for providing AI tools to the Zionist military. The report expands on a previous UN database of firms linked to Zionist settlements, last updated in June 2023, adding new companies and detailing alleged ties to the ongoing Gaza conflict. – Agencies
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