KATHMANDU: In Gaza City's Shujaiya neighborhood, fierce fighting persisted for the fourth day in a row on Sunday as Israeli soldiers stepped up their operations. Due to Israeli operations against Hamas and Islamic Jihad extremists, tens of thousands of Palestinians have left the region. Over the course of the previous day, the Israeli military claimed to have found weapons stockpiles, targeted and eliminated terrorists and raided facilities that were planted with explosives. Air strikes also targeted numerous infrastructure sites belonging to militants.
The clashes in Shujaiya come amid broader military engagements in central Gaza and the southern Rafah area, following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statement that the intense phase of the conflict was nearing its end. Despite ongoing efforts to negotiate a truce and hostage release between Israel and Hamas, facilitated by US mediators, progress has been minimal. Hamas dismissed a revised US proposal for a six-week truce and prisoner exchange as offering "no real progress" and accused Israel of using negotiations to prolong aggression.
The UN estimates that since the current combat erupted, between 60,000 and 80,000 people have been displaced from Shujaiya, indicating the serious humanitarian effect. The circumstances highlight Gaza's ongoing humanitarian catastrophe and instability, with appeals from around the world for an end to hostilities and measures to lessen suffering among civilians in the face of rising bloodshed.
