Israel Drops 100,000 Tons of Explosives on Gaza

After more than 15 months of the bloody Israeli genocide, the Gaza Strip appears as if it has just emerged from a devastating earthquake due to the massive destruction of buildings, facilities and streets.

The destruction of infrastructure, including homes, buildings, facilities, streets, water and sewage networks, stands unprecedented in modern history.

This destruction, halted for the time being by a ceasefire agreement that went into effect between Hamas and Israel last Sunday morning, days after it was reached through US, Qatar and Egypt mediation has left a stark and harsh humanitarian reality.

Gaza Government Media Office figures released Tuesday, states the Israeli army dropped over 100,000 tons of explosives on the Strip causing the destruction of about 88 percent of the infrastructure, homes, water and sewage networks, electricity and the economy.

The cost of the initial direct losses from this  war of extermination exceeds $38 billion.

The first phase of the agreement is scheduled to last for 42 days, during which negotiations will be held to start a second and then a third phase.

Between October 7, 2023 and January 19, 2024, the Israeli genocide left more than 157,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing. This is one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world.

CrossFireArabia

CrossFireArabia

Dr. Marwan Asmar holds a PhD from Leeds University and is a freelance writer specializing on the Middle East. He has worked as a journalist since the early 1990s in Jordan and the Gulf countries, and been widely published, including at Albawaba, Gulf News, Al Ghad, World Press Review and others.

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Israeli Army Radio has reported that personalities close to US President Donald Trump informed the Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister, Ron Dermer, that the US president had decided to cut off contact with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Army Radio explained that these acquaintances close to Trump informed Dermer that Netanyahu was manipulating the US president, stressing that what Trump hates most is being perceived as being manipulated.

The radio quoted an Israeli official as saying that Minister Dermer’s conversation with senior Republican officials, did not work because of his displayed arrogance.

This came hours after a report in the Israel Hayom newspaper asserting that the US president is “disappointed” with Netanyahu and intends to take “steps” in the Middle East “without waiting for him.”

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The newspaper added that two senior sources close to Trump said, in closed conversations in recent days, that he has decided not to wait for Israel any longer and is moving forward with steps in the Middle East without “waiting for Netanyahu.”

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Hamas Welcomes New Pope in Rome

Hamas congratulated Cardinal Robert Prevost on Thursday for being elected the new pope, urging him to follow in the footsteps of Pope Francis, who was a strong advocate for the Palestinian cause and condemned Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Prevost, who will be known as Pope Leo XIV, was elected as the new pope by the Cardinals in a two-day conclave and will be the first American pontiff in history.

Hamas said in a statement it “extends its sincere congratulations to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV on the occasion of his election as Head of the Catholic Church.”

“We wish him success in fulfilling his spiritual and humanitarian mission at a time when the world faces profound crises and tragedies—chief among them, the ongoing brutal Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.”

“We highly value the principled and courageous humanitarian positions taken by the late Pope Francis, including his repeated expressions of solidarity with the Palestinian people and his firm stance against the occupation and its repressive policies.”

“We look forward to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV continuing this ethical and moral path—standing with the oppressed, advocating for justice, and engaging actively within international forums to help end the crime of genocide and ethnic cleansing being perpetrated by the Israeli occupation against children, women, and unarmed civilians in Gaza.”

“We also call for action to halt the ongoing violations against Islamic and Christian holy sites throughout Palestine, and reaffirm the importance of upholding human dignity and religious sanctity everywhere.”

Pope Francis was a staunch advocate for Palestinians and kept in regular contact with Catholics in Gaza amid Israel’s assault. That included daily calls with the priest at the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, the only Catholic church in the Palestinian enclave.

Upon his death, Francis also donated his so-called “popemobile” to Gaza to serve as a mobile children’s clinic.
Pope Leo XIV has not said much publicly about Gaza, making it unclear if he will emulate his predecessor according to the Quds News Network.

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