Al-Qassam armed wing of Hamas says it launched hundreds of missiles at southern Israeli city, saying attack was in response to the displacement of civilians        

A salvo of rockets was fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza towards Israel on October 10, 2023.— AFP

 October 11, 2023  ,JERUSALEM: Hamas attacked the Israeli city of Ashkelon with rocket fire after warning residents to leave on Tuesday. The al-Qassam armed wing of Palestinian militant group Hamas said it launched hundreds of missiles at the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, saying the attack was “in response to the displacement of civilians.” It comes shortly after al-Qassam’s deadline of 5 p.m. local time for Ashkelon citizens to leave the premises had passed. Israeli Iron Dome rockets were launched to intercept the incoming barrage. Reporters from the scene described it not to be a huge barrage. “A lot of the city had evacuated already... there wasn’t, as far as we could see, a mass exodus from Ashkelon.” In a speech, United States President Joe Biden condemned the Hamas attacks as “sheer evil.” Biden confirmed at least 14 Americans were killed, and others were missing. “We stand with Israel,” Biden said. He asserted Israel will have what it needs to respond to the attack. He warned those who might try to take advantage of the conflict and asserted his nation’s support of Israel.

Earlier, the Israeli forces launched artillery fire at Lebanon and Syria after rocket fire towards Israel, the army said. Also, the Israeli military said it’s identified “a number of launches from Syria aimed at Israel”.

Israel said it recaptured Gaza border areas from Hamas militants as the war’s death toll passed 3,000, the fourth day of fierce fighting since the Islamists launched a surprise attack. Fears of a regional conflagration have surged ahead of an expected Israeli ground incursion into Gaza. The death toll in Israel has surged above 1,000 from the worst attack in the country’s 75-year history, while Gaza officials have reported 830 people killed so far, and Israel’s army said the bodies of roughly 1,500 militants had been found. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said 4,250 people were injured.

Terrifying explosions shook the Gaza area throughout Monday night. Children were screaming and nobody had a moment’s sleep. As dawn broke on Tuesday, people discovered the extent of the destruction. The south-western neighbourhood’s infrastructure was severely damaged and most roads leading to it were cut off.

IDF Brig Gen Dan Goldfuss confirmed an earlier report that 1,000 people have been killed by Palestinian militants. It said Hamas killed more than 100 civilians in Kfar Aza kibbutz. Two senior Hamas officials were also killed in air strikes in Gaza, the Israeli military said. Hamas confirmed their deaths.Gaza’s sole border crossing with Egypt, the only entry point not controlled by Israel, was hit by an Israeli air strike for the third time in 24 hours, an AFP photographer and an NGO said. The third strike against the Rafah crossing targeted the Palestinian side of the crossing, local Egyptian group Sinai for Human Rights reported.

High-level Egyptian security sources claimed there were attempts to “settle the people of Gaza in the (Egypt’s) Sinai Peninsula,” state-linked private television Al Qahera News reported. “Egypt has rejected and will reject this matter, which was also rejected by the Palestinian people,” the sources said.

Following Israel’s announcement of laying siege of Gaza, the United Nations human rights chief said that the siege of Gaza was “prohibited” under international law and called for the establishment of “a humanitarian corridor”. Volker Turk called for all sides instead to defuse the “explosive powder-keg situation”. “We know from bitter experience that vengeance is not the answer, and ultimately innocent civilians pay the price,” Turk said.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said he was “deeply shocked and appalled by allegations of summary executions of civilians, and, in some instances, horrifying mass killings by members of Palestinian armed groups”. “Civilians must never be used as bargaining chips.” He urged Palestinian armed groups to release all captured civilians immediately and unconditionally, with hostage-taking being prohibited by international law.

In response, Israel’s mission in Geneva said Turk “does not mention who lit” the powder keg he described and criticised him for not condemning Hamas as terrorists.

Meanwhile, the ongoing UN investigation into alleged human rights violations in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict said there was “already clear evidence that war crimes may have been committed” since Saturday’s surprise Hamas assault. “All those who have violated international law and targeted civilians must be held accountable for their crimes,” said the Commission of Inquiry.

The COI, the highest-level investigation that can be ordered by the UN Human Rights Council, said it is also “gravely concerned” by Israel’s total siege on the Gaza Strip, “which will undoubtfully cost civilian lives and constitutes collective punishment”.

The United Nations humanitarian relief agency has called for the immediate release of all hostages in the conflict. Its chief Martin Griffiths said in a statement that his call to all sides was “unequivocal”.

In a related development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again extended support to Israel. In his telephone talk with Prime Minister Netanyahu, Modi said he assured the Israeli premier that India stands with Israel in “this difficult hour”. He also underscored that India strongly and unequivocally condemns terrorism in all its forms.

The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, said the Israel-Gaza conflict showed the “failure” of Washington’s Middle East policy and called the creation of “an independent sovereign Palestinian state” a “necessity”. The Russian leader made the comments while meeting Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in Moscow. “I think many people would agree with me that it’s a clear example of the failure of US politics in the Middle East,” Putin said. He spoke of the “necessity to implement the decisions of the UN Security Council on the creation of an independent sovereign Palestinian state.”

The European Union and Gulf Cooperation Council called for sustained aid for the Palestinian territories following concerns that it could be axed after the Hamas attack on Israel. EU foreign ministers urged Israel not to cut “water, food, or electricity” to Gaza and called for humanitarian corridors for those trying to flee the territory, the bloc’s foreign policy chief said. “Israel has the right to defend itself, but that needs to be done accordingly with international law, humanitarian law. And some decisions are contrary to international law.”

EU foreign ministers are urging both sides to respect humanitarian law. However, Sweden and Denmark temporarily stopped development aid to Palestinian territories.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Israel later this week to meet senior Israeli leaders, the State Department said.

“It will be a message of solidarity and support,” spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. He will also visit regional ally Jordan on Thursday and Friday.