‘We are completely shocked by the damage’: What are ordinary people in Gaza saying about Israel's retaliation?
A local resident says no street has been left undamaged as Israeli strikes continue
Since the beginning of its ‘Iron Swords’ operation on Saturday, Israel has destroyed or damaged more than 400 sites in Gaza. Over 300 Palestinians have been killed, many of whom were civilians. At least 1,990 have been wounded.
Sanaa Kamal, a resident of Gaza who also works as a local reporter, has seen and covered a number of confrontations between Israel and the Palestinian military factions. But she claims she has never seen destruction greater than that inflicted by Israel on Sunday, following the infiltration of Israel’s southern communities by dozens of Hamas militants.
So far, according to official data, more than 500 have been murdered at the hands of Palestinian militants. Over 1,900 others have been wounded, and 100 are reportedly being held by Hamas, a group considered terrorists by Israel, inside Gaza.
"We are completely shocked by the damage Israel has caused. There is literally no street in Gaza that has remained intact. Every street and every corner has been destroyed or damaged. Some of them had just been reconstructed and now they have turned into ruins again," she said.
Since Saturday, Israel has struck more than 400 targets it says are ‘linked’ to Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. This is not unusual in itself. This time, however, jets have also been targeting the houses of top Hamas commanders and political leaders, sending a message to the group that their whereabouts are well known. Parallel to that, the IDF have also been bombing the exclave’s infrastructure, including mosques, residential buildings, roads, banks and hospitals.
Kamal hasn’t slept and says the heavy bombardment has prevented her from disconnecting. Her family and everyone around her, she admits, are afraid they may become the latest number in the long series of Palestinian casualties.
She is far from the only resident who is concerned about what she sees. Maram Faraj says she also failed to sleep and was tormented by thoughts of her journalist friend who has been lost.
"My friend went together with Hamas militants into one of the Israeli settlemts to provide better coverage. Since then, I haven’t heard back from him and we suspect that he was shot by the Israelis, together with other operatives," Faraj told RT.
The Palestinian health ministry has already stated that more than 300 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza. More than 1,990 have been wounded. Many of these, Hamas claims, were civilians who were buried under rubble.
Who’s to blame?
Looking at the destruction around her, Kamal points the finger at Israel and its "stubborn" leadership that refuses to make concessions to Palestinians, and that refrains from resolving the decades-long conflict. But she also criticizes Hamas for putting the Palestinian population through yet another ordeal.
https://www.rt.com/news/584328-we-are-completely-shocked/