Israel bombing of Gaza wipes out entire neighbourhoods

Israel’s continued bombardment of the Gaza Strip, currently in its fifth consecutive day, has wiped out entire neighbourhoods in the densely populated enclave with the death toll rising to at least 950 people, including at least 260 children and over 5,000 injured.

According to a report by Al-Mayadeen, citing a correspondent, the occupation forces have launched over 200 raids on the Al-Furqan neighbourhood, situated in the north of the Strip.

The outlet also reported that “overnight Israeli raids completely destroyed the Al-Rimal and several other neighbourhoods in Gaza and erased its features,” adding that the Israelis “bombed the Beit Hanoun police station in the northern Gaza Strip.”

Al Jazeera describes Al-Rimal as being “once the beating heart of the Gaza Strip,” quoting a Gazan businessman who lives near Rimal as saying: “Israel has destroyed the centre of everything.”

“That is the space of our public life, our community,” he added.

READ: Possible ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ in Gaza with power set to go out within hours

The area included apartment towers, mosques, offices and university buildings, in addition to Gaza’s main telecommunications company to international media.

Yesterday, Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari revealed that “hundreds of tonnes of bombs” had already been dropped on Gaza, adding that “the emphasis is on damage and not on accuracy”. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also vowed to “flatten” the enclave, which is home to 2.3 million trapped civilians.

While an Israeli defence official has vowed to turn Gaza into a “tent city”, promising to raze every building to the ground in revenge.

Considered to be the most intense bombing campaign in recent memory, the Israeli offensive on Gaza comes amid a large scale Palestinian resistance operation, codenamed Al-Aqsa Flood, which has been Israel’s most serious challenge since the 1973 October War and has so far claimed the lives of over 1,000 Israelis with at least 150 taken as prisoners of war.

READ: UN official warns ongoing hostilities in Gaza have ‘grave’ humanitarian consequences