Israeli warplanes attacked two Gaza refugee camps early Sunday, killing at least 53 people and injuring scores more, according to health authorities, news agency Associated Press reported. The attacks occurred as Israel announced it will carry on with its onslaught against the territory's Hamas rulers, ignoring US pleas for a halt to allow supplies to reach desperate residents. Even modest humanitarian pauses offered by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his current trip of the region, Israel has rejected the concept of suspending its attack. According to Gaza's Health Ministry, more over 9,700 Palestinians have been killed in the territory in nearly a month of fighting, a figure that is sure to climb as Israeli soldiers push into densely populated urban areas.
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During a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas urged for a "immediate cessation of the destructive war," according to Palestinian news agency WAFA.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned to the Middle East this weekend as the humanitarian situation in Gaza worsened and settler violence surged in the West Bank. In his first visit to Ramallah since the war began, Blinken met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday, CNN reported.
Over 300 Americans and their families have left Gaza "over the last several days," according to White House deputy national security advisor Jon Finer, speaking on CBS Face the Nation on Sunday.
On Sunday, Pope Francis said he "begs" in God's name for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas conflict. “I continue to think about the serious situation in Palestine and in Israel where many, many people have lost their lives. In God’s name, I beg you to stop: cease using weapons!" the pope said on X.
The European Commission stated on Sunday that "European Jews today are once again living in fear," citing an increase in antisemitic events throughout Europe in the weeks following Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel. “The spike of antisemitic incidents across Europe has reached extraordinary levels in the last few days, reminiscent of some of the darkest times in history,” a statement published on the European Commission’s website read.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have stated that they are pursuing the source of anti-tank missiles fired from Lebanon at Yiftah, a kibbutz in northern Israel.
According to the state-run Lebanese news agency, an Israeli airstrike injured four persons in the southern Lebanese village of Tair Harfa on Sunday.
Netanyahu has barred a far-right cabinet colleague from attending government meetings after the minister said that firing a nuclear weapon on Gaza was "one way" to deal with the problem, CNN reported.
According to medical officials, a bomb late Saturday night in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza killed dozens and injured many more.
According to the Gaza's Health Ministry, airstrikes attacked the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza overnight, killing at least 40 people and injuring 34 others.