Monday, March 24

Israel has officially restarted their bombardment of Gaza after a monthslong ceasefire, hitting a major hospital in southern Gaza as the war's death toll surpasses 50,000 people.

Over the past few months, Hamas and Israel had been under a ceasefire agreement, which had negotiated for the release of dozens of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and a six-week ceasefire. The ceasefire was extended by six weeks to allow for extra time to negotiate, but Israel stated that they needed all hostages back before pausing the war again, while Hamas told Israel that they needed a guarantee that the war would end before giving back any hostages. Since both sides were unwilling to cede on several major points, negotiations quickly failed and tension began rising once again.

Israel resumed major attacks on Gaza earlier this week, launching barrages of airstrikes into the major cities of Deir-al-Balah, Gaza City, and Khan Younis. The strikes killed hundreds of people, but Israel claimed that the areas hit were centers for Hamas operations.

Now, Israel's latest attack has hit Gaza's largest hospital: the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis. According to local reports, several airstrikes hit the second floor surgical unit, which held dozens of men who were preparing for, in the middle of, or healing from procedures. Several people were killed in the strikes, including a Hamas official-- Ismail Barhoum, the head of financial affairs at Hamas, was being treated at the hospital during the strikes.

Israel stated afterwards that they had attempted to do the least amount of damage as possible while achieving their goal of taking out the Hamas operative, but the attacks still did a great deal of damage to the hospital. Dozens of people were injured, and the entire section of the hospital that was hit by the strikes has been decimated.

Israel has worked to establish the fact that Hamas intentionally houses operations within major civilian centers like hospitals in order to avoid Israeli detection and deter direct airstrikes, but Israel has promised to completely annihilate Hamas, no matter the cost.

This comes just as the death toll in Gaza passes 50,000, and there does not seem to be any sign that the war could come to an end soon. Israel continues to place the blame on Hamas for not accepting a proposal made by the US during the negotiation period, but Hamas maintains that Israel is at fault for not continuing with negotiations related to the original ceasefire.

Upcoming Events:

• World Tuberculosis Day (Monday, March 24)

• International Day for the Right to the Truth concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims (Monday, March 24)

• International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade (Tuesday, March 25)

• International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members (Tuesday, March 25)

• World Figure Skating Championships Begin (Tuesday, March 25)

• Eid al-Fitr (Sunday, March 30)

• Ramadan Ends (Sunday, March 30)

• International Day of Zero Waste (Sunday, March 30)

• Winter World Military Games End (Sunday, March 30)

• World Figure Skating Championships End (Sunday, March 30)

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): Bananas don't grow on trees. They actually grow on massive herbs that look like trees-- the difference is that herbs have no wood. Due to this, banana "trees" have trunks that are actually made of tightly packed leaf stalks.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Winners take time to relish their work, knowing that scaling the mountain is what makes the view from the top so exhilarating. (Denis Waitley)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): De rigueur (noun, duh-REE-gur) - De rigueur is a formal adjective that describes things that are necessary if you want to be fashionable, popular, socially acceptable, etc.—in other words, things required by fashion, etiquette, or custom.

In a Sentence: Dark sunglasses are de rigueur these days among fashionistas.