The sixth day of operation al Aqsa Flood: Israel continues bombing Gaza Strip and its violent bombardment raises the number of Palestinian civilians casualties

At dawn on Thursday, the Israeli army bombed Palestinian homes in the Beach Camp, west of the Gaza Strip and Jabalia (northeast Gaz), leaving casualties.

Israeli aircraft continue to bomb Palestinian buildings, homes and facilities in all areas of the Gaza Strip, where bombing the al Shati and Jabalia camps, which resulted in the killing of dozens of Palestinians and injured several more.

In light of the ongoing escalation, the number of Israeli deaths in confrontations with Palestinian factions since Saturday has risen to at least 1,300 and the number of wounded to more than 3,300.

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said on Thursday, “At least 1,300 people were killed and 3,300 others were injured, including 28 in critical condition and 350 in serious condition”.

While the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that the number of deaths in the Gaza Strip had risen to 1,203 and the wounded to 5,763 since the start of the Israeli aggression.

The United Nations announced on Thursday that more than 338,000 people were forced to flee their homes in the Gaza Strip, which has been subjected to violent Israeli bombardment since Hamas launched a sudden and bloody attack on the south of Israel on Saturday.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OSHA) said in a statement that the number of displaced people in the crowded sector of 2.3 million people increased on Wednesday afternoon by an additional 75,000 people to reach 338,934 displaced people.

The UN office explained that nearly 220,000 people, or two-thirds of the displaced, took refuge in schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip, while nearly 15,000 people took refuge in schools run by the Palestinian Authority.

As for the remaining number of displaced people, which exceed 100,000 people, they found refuge with relatives and neighbors, and inside a church and other facilities in Gaza City.

Before Hamas’ attack on Israel on Saturday morning, there were already about 3,000 displaced people inside the Gaza Strip.

The UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs quoted the Ministry of Public Works and Housing in Gaza as saying that the violent bombing launched by Israel on the Gaza Strip caused the destruction of at least 2,540 housing units in the Gaza Strip or rendered them uninhabitable, adding that another 22,850 housing units sustained moderate to minor damage.

The UN agency also expressed its concern about the major destruction caused to civilian infrastructure in the Strip as a result of the Israeli bombing.

The statement pointed out that sanitation facilities serving more than a million people were subjected to air strikes, which led to the accumulation of solid waste in the streets, which entails health risks.

In the same context, a Palestinian official announced on Thursday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet with Jordanian King Abdullah II, Thursday, while he will meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday.

For his part, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed that the United States supports and protects Israel at all times.

Blinken said in a press statement before heading to visit Israel, Thursday, “The United States supports Israel… We protect them today, we will protect them tomorrow, and we will protect them every day… We will always stand firmly against terrorism”.

Blinken added, “Washington is ready to send a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East if necessary, and we will deter anyone looking to launch any aggression against Israel”.

On Monday, Blinken deleted a blog post he posted on X platform after a conversation he had with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, in which he encouraged Türkiye’s call to contribute to establishing a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Although Blinken deleted his post, the press statement he made is still available on the US State department official website.