It began without warning. “Planes were bombing. Tanks were firing. Quadcopter drones were shooting. People were running and screaming. It felt like Judgment Day, as if we were living our last moments.”
This was the scene at around 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 8 in central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp. Aerial bombardment, as described by a journalist in the camp who preferred to remain anonymous, was accompanied by the entry of dozens of Israeli military and police special forces personnel who emerged from aid trucks. “We couldn’t understand what was happening,” the journalist added.
As later became clear, a major Israeli military operation was underway to retrieve four hostages whom Hamas had kidnapped from the Nova music festival almost exactly eight months prior. In doing so, Israeli forces unleashed devastation on Nuseirat camp, killing at least 276 Palestinians and wounding approximately 700 more. …..more
