While Gaza is suffering due to intensified Israeli airstrikes during the night of 27 October, a number of Palestinians have been killed, harassed, or arrested by illegal settlers or Israeli security forces amid clashes and tension in the West Bank.
Since 7 October, 111 Palestinians have been killed and 1950 injured in the West Bank, the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced on Saturday, 28 October. The latest death was the murder of a 40-year-old Palestinian man, Belal Mohamed Saleh, after being shot in the chest by a settler in Nablus on Saturday.
Twenty-five Palestinians have been taken from their homes and detained by Israeli security forces on 28 October, bringing the total number of detainees since 7 October to 1555, reports WAFA, according to prisoners’ advocacy groups.
In a separate report, WAFA revealed that over 250 Palestinians were forced to flee their homes in the village of Zanuta as a result of “nonstop terror attacks by Israeli army-guarded settler militias,” according to Fayez Al-Tal, head of the Zanuta Village Council.
The Conflict So Far
After a surprise attack conducted on 7 October by Hamas on a number of southern Israeli towns which resulted in the deaths of an estimated 1,405 people and more than 220 being taken hostage by Hamas, Israel launched a retaliatory bombing campaign against what it describes as ‘terrorist targets’ in the Gaza Strip.
As of 27 October, more than 7,028 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip — including 2,913 children — and 18,482 others injured. Meanwhile 105 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and more than 1,900 have been injured. The casualty count in Gaza since then is unknown after Israel cut off Gaza’s communications and launched its most violent night of airstrikes.
The priority of the Egyptian government since the beginning of the conflict has been deescalation and the securing of a path for aid to enter the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing. Israel bombed the crossing at least four times, and three aid conveys have crossed to Gaza so far.
Most Western countries, with the United States at the forefront, have expressed unconditional support for Israel, despite the steadily rising death toll in Gaza. Meanwhile, the United Nations General Assembly has issued a resolution calling for a ceasefire.
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