The Israeli-Palestine conflict should not be seen as an opportunity to build a peace treaty or a model of cooperation between countries in a region that has never negotiated an international treaty.
It should be understood as a tragedy that has devastated hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and killed many more, as well as an international humanitarian catastrophe.
While Israelis are still celebrating the victory of the Israeli military in the Israeli elections on Friday, many Palestinians are struggling to survive.
In the aftermath of the election, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, have called for an immediate ceasefire and the release of all prisoners held by Israeli forces.
In this context, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have announced that it will continue to attack Palestinian villages and towns until the armed wing of Hamas, the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), withdraws from the Gaza Strip.
This is the latest in a series of violent incidents by Israeli troops since the elections.
At least seven Palestinians were killed by IDF shelling in the past week.
A report by Amnesty International (AI) earlier this week said that Israeli forces were using disproportionate force against Palestinians in Gaza, with at least 1,300 civilians killed, most of them civilians, since the start of Operation Protective Edge in mid-August.
The report also noted that in one week alone, at least 13 Palestinians were injured by Israeli attacks in Gaza.
The IDF has claimed that it has killed more than 1,200 Palestinians since the war began.AI found that the IDF killed 1,076 Palestinians in attacks against Gaza, including 565 civilians, and that it fired more than 100,000 rockets into the territory.
While Palestinians have said that the death toll is likely higher, they have also pointed to the fact that Israel has not been able to secure a cease-fire since the end of the last major war between Israel and Hamas, in 2014, which lasted almost a year.
The situation is so bad that Palestinians are using the hashtag #EndWar, in reference to the military’s refusal to negotiate.
A video published by the Palestinian news agency Maan shows an Israeli soldier firing at a house in Khan Younis, west of Gaza City, as civilians flee the area.
Maan quoted a Palestinian fighter as saying: “The soldiers killed a number of children and women in Khan Sheikhoun and attacked civilians, leaving many people injured.”
The Israeli military said in a statement that it had opened fire to prevent the group from fleeing, adding that it targeted several vehicles, and the IDF also fired warning shots at a group of young people who were hiding in the building.
In Gaza, the IDF said it fired warning fire at a car used by the family of a Palestinian who had just died.
In addition, it said it shot at two vehicles that belonged to Hamas militants in Khan Yunis, east of the Gaza strip.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said the soldiers did not hit civilians and that they did not use live ammunition.