– We tell the children that there are fireworks. But they understand that there are bombs, says another grandmother, the 71-year-old Alaa, after two nights of Israeli attacks on Gaza. She says the adults try to keep calm. But it is difficult. Her daughter is also at home with a two-week-old child. – We are afraid to take them to the hospital. But I’m also afraid that the baby will get sick here, says Alaa to news. Children stand by a destroyed building in Gaza City. At least 46 buildings are totally damaged, say the Palestinian authorities. Photo: Ameera Harouda Everything is closed in Gaza today, and the streets are empty. After two days of Israeli airstrikes, more than 40 people have been killed. Among them are six children and two leaders of Islamic Jihad, according to Palestinian authorities. On Sunday afternoon, there are reports that the Islamic Holy War (Jihad) has confirmed a ceasefire between them and Israel, at the suggestion of the Egyptian authorities, according to the AFP news agency. According to the news agency, the ceasefire comes into effect at 23.30 Norwegian time. Escaped twice – We are afraid to move out, we never know when the next attack will come, says Khadra Khalifa. She and her family evacuated themselves on Saturday morning. They escaped to a neighbor with their daughter-in-law and grandchildren. Soon after, the warning also came there: An Israeli attack was on its way. They escaped again. – I can not believe it. We built this house with our own hands, stone by stone. Everything we own, our home, was gone in a second. Khadra Khalifa lost her house in an attack in Gaza City on Saturday. Now she and her family live with her sister. – We are scared, says the 62-year-old. Photo: Ameena Harouda Both houses were bombed to pieces on Saturday morning. Israel usually warns the population in the densely populated areas of Gaza, so they will have time to get away. It also happened to Khalifa. Together with her children and grandchildren, she now lives with her sister. The home of Khadra Khalifa was destroyed on Saturday. Photo: AMEERA HAROUDA Fear of collapse Only the hospitals remain open. But they too are at risk of collapse, say the health authorities in Gaza. There is an acute shortage of electricity, after Israel stopped all imports of goods to Gaza. Yesterday, Gaza’s only power plant was shut down because they ran out of gas. Now there are generators that provide electricity and keep the hospitals running. They only have enough electricity for two more days, say the authorities. Israel says it launched the attacks, dubbed “Operation Breaking Dawn”, on Friday to protect itself against the Islamic Jihad group. On Friday, Israel arrested one of its top leaders and killed another leader in Gaza. Islamic Jihad has fired over 400 rockets at Israel since Friday. Most of these have been intercepted by Israel’s anti-missile system. No one has been injured so far, but air sirens have sounded in both Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem. – Was a threat The attacks started after the arrest of the top leader of Islamic Jihad in the city of Jenin in the West Bank on Friday. – This was necessary to neutralize the threat to Israeli residents and the community along the Gaza Strip, writes the Israeli embassy in Norway in an email to news. Over 400 rockets have been fired at Israel since Friday. Photo: Fatima Shbair / AP Israeli authorities say that the country’s forces are working purposefully to target jihadists, and that Friday’s attack hit units that were preparing rocket attacks against Israel. Palestine’s Islamic Jihad is a militant group in Gaza and the West Bank, founded in 1981. They do not stand for election, like Hamas, which governs Gaza. Among other things, they receive support from Iran. Khalida says they are just ordinary people and that there are no militants living nearby. – You can ask everyone here, we are just ordinary people living ordinary lives. She pleads with Egypt to find a solution to the conflict. – We remember the war in 2014 and we remember the war last year. This has to end, says the 62-year-old.
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We are two days away from full collapse – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
