Russian President Vladimir Putin has once again spoken out about Israel’s attacks in Gaza, Palestine. He expressed his concern about the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group, Hamas.
In a telephone call to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on local Tuesday time, he said the situation is deteriorating. “Profound concern about the increasing number of civilian casualties and the worsening humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip,” said the Kremlin, quoting him and Erdogan, as reported by the Moscow Times on Wednesday (October 25, 2023).
Putin and Erdogan also stated that the Israeli attacks are unacceptable, particularly in residential areas and places of worship.
“Russia and Turkey are essentially in the same position. They are focused on a two-state solution,” they added in the same statement.
Meanwhile, on the 19th day of the war, Israel’s attacks in Gaza have escalated. More than 700 people have died in the airstrikes launched within 24 hours.
The Gaza Health Ministry stated that 704 people have died. Ministry spokesperson Ashraf Al-Qidra described this as the highest daily death toll in two weeks of Israeli bombings.
“Thousands of families have been displaced. It’s nothing but rubble and debris everywhere,” reported Youmna ElSayed, an Al-Jazeera journalist in Gaza.
“You can hear the sound of Israeli drones and jets in the sky. Everyone is saying, everyone feels that there is no safe place left in the Gaza Strip,” she added.
Israel announced on Tuesday that it had attacked more than 400 Hamas targets. Israel claimed to have killed dozens of militants from the group.
In these attacks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that three Hamas deputy commanders were killed. Earlier, Israel stated that it would not stop until it had destroyed Hamas.
Meanwhile, witnesses said the airstrikes hit residential buildings. Some of them were in southern Gaza, where Israel had instructed civilians to take shelter.
One overnight airstrike leveled a four-story residential building in the southern city of Khan Younis. According to the Associated Press (AP) report, this killed at least 32 people and injured dozens more.
In Gaza City, at least 19 people were killed when an airstrike hit the Bahloul family’s home, where, according to witnesses, dozens of other people were still trapped. Workers managed to pull at least two children out of the collapsed building.
It’s worth noting that in addition to bombarding the area, Israel has cut off access to food, water, medications, and fuel in what Netanyahu called a “total blockade.”
More than 40 health centers have ceased operations due to shortages and damage caused by Israel’s bombings.
