Israeli occupation forces conducted artillery strikes inside the Gaza strip early morning on Wednesday May 6. No casualties have been reported so far. The attack was in violation of an informal ceasefire understanding reached a month ago to prevent such attacks during the time of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The targeted sites were identified as Beit Hanoun and Johr al-Dik in the northern and eastern parts of the besieged Gaza strip.
The Israeli military claimed that its tanks fired at different locations inside Gaza in response to a rocket attack from inside the strip. However, the claim could not be verified by any media source.
Israeli war planes also flew over the strip following the attack. The Gaza strip has been besieged by Israel from both land and sea since 2007 leaving nearly two million Palestinians dependent on humanitarian aid for survival.
The Israeli navy also opened fire today on Palestinian fishermen near the Gaza coast, damaging one boat. The Palestinians were fishing within the three nautical miles limit to the coast, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
Israel has continued its oppressive policies towards Palestinians in spite of the emergency lockdown imposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. It continues to seize Palestinian land and continues to harass and torture Palestinian prisoners inside Israeli jails.
The Israeli administration also shut down certain test centers established by the Palestinian Authority (PA). Several instances of humiliating and inhumane treatment meted out to infected Palestinians by Israeli authorities have also been reported.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has further vowed to annex parts of the West Bank despite the health crisis.
Yesterday, the PA extended the state of emergency imposed in March by one more month, continuing the complete shutdown of all economic and social activities except essential services and supplies inside the occupied territories. The novel coronavirus has already infected 543 Palestinians, killing four, so far. Around 10 new cases were recorded in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem yesterday.
