This Tuesday, the 31st, the Israeli Army bombed the Jabalia refugee camp, the largest in the Gaza Strip. According to Israel, the attack was part of an operation against Hamas and killed Ibrahim Biari, one of those responsible for the October 7 attacks.
Hamas said there was no leader of the group in Jabalia and claimed that Israel’s action killed more than 50 Palestinians, leaving 150 injured. According to the group, the allegation that Biari had been killed was a justification for the “massacre”.
The Israeli military said soldiers, tanks and a fighter jet were used in the offensive, which reportedly destroyed tunnels, weapons depots and military equipment. “He (Biari) was eliminated as part of a large-scale attack against terrorists and the terrorist infrastructure of the Jabalia Battalion,” Army spokesman Daniel Hagari wrote on X (formerly Twitter) when announcing the death of the Hamas commander.
In an interview with CNN, Israeli Army spokesman Colonel Richard Hecht confirmed the bombing and stated that Biari was “hiding among civilians.” Anchor Wolf Blitzer questioned the attack. “Israel dropped a bomb to kill this Hamas commander knowing that many innocent civilians would be killed. Is that it?” he questioned. “That’s the tragedy of war,” Hecht responded.
The Israeli Army yesterday reiterated its warning for Gaza residents to flee to the south of the territory. More than half the population of 2 million have been displaced since Israel began attacking the enclave. The attack on Jabalia, however, may have had a broader impact. According to images from the broadcaster Al-Jazira, dozens of people were trying to remove survivors from the rubble. Images from the site showed a huge crater in the middle of the refugee camp.
The NGO Doctors Without Borders said it was “horrified” by the bombing. “Young children arrived at the hospital with deep wounds and severe burns. They arrived without their families. Many were screaming and asking for their parents,” said doctor Mohamed Hawajreh.
Aid officials warned yesterday that Palestinian civilians face a growing catastrophe. “The scale of the horror that people are experiencing in Gaza is truly difficult to describe,” said Martin Griffiths, the UN’s top humanitarian official. “People are increasingly desperate looking for food, water and shelter.”
Craig Mokhiber, director of the New York office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, resigned yesterday in protest against the bombing of Gaza.
The information is from the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo.
