After ten days of fierce fighting, the exchange of fire continued, and the ceasefire in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict was slim

　　[Special correspondent of Global Times in Egypt Huang Peizhao, Special correspondent of Global Times Ren Zhong] On May 19th, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Gaza entered the tenth day, and the two sides continued to exchange fire. At the same time, in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, angry Palestinians continue to have violent clashes with Israeli military and police, and several people are killed and injured, which is getting worse. Although the international community has been mediating constantly, it has had little effect. Earlier, it was reported that there would be a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine on the 20th, which was denied by Hamas on the 19th. The Israeli side said that it was evaluating whether the current situation was suitable for a ceasefire and could not give a "timetable" for the ceasefire. Many media believed that the current ceasefire between Israel and Palestine was "difficult to achieve".

　　The conflict is escalating.

　　Zilberman, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces, said on the morning of the 19th that at about 10 pm on the 18th, 52 Israeli warplanes dropped 122 missiles at about 40 underground targets in Gaza within 25 minutes. These targets are part of the so-called "subway" which spans a 12km tunnel in Gaza, including weapons storage sites and a command center in Hamas. Zilberman estimated that at least 10 Hamas members were killed. According to local media, "subway" is the code name or abbreviation of Hamas’s underground works in Gaza.

　　In addition to focusing on the indiscriminate bombing of the "subway", the Israeli army also attacked many targets in Gaza on the night of 18th and early morning of 19th, including houses where Hamas members were suspected to be hiding. The Palestinian newspaper Al-Riad said that at least four Palestinians were killed and many others were injured in the overnight bombing. According to data released by the Palestinian Ministry of Health on the morning of 19th, at least 222 Palestinians, including 63 children, have been killed and 1,510 injured by Israeli air strikes in the Gaza.

　　At the same time, Hamas continues to fire rockets into Israel. According to the Israeli military, from the morning of 18th to 7 pm, Israel was attacked by 287 rockets from Gaza. From 7 pm on 18th to 7 am on 19th, Hamas fired 70 rockets at Israel. Although most of the rockets were intercepted by the Israeli army, many cities sounded alarms and people lived in fear. On the afternoon of 18th, rockets from Hamas hit several buildings and vehicles in the southern cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod, killing two people and injuring many others. It was later confirmed that all the dead were Thai laborers.

　　"Angry Tuesday"

　　"Daily" said that the conflict continued to heat up, which further aggravated the humanitarian disaster in Gaza. It is common for Gaza to cut off electricity and water, and the fuel supply is stretched. Dugarry, spokesman of the UN Secretary-General, said that so far, more than 10 hospitals and medical institutions have been destroyed and more than 40 educational facilities have been attacked by air. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported on the 18th that the conflict has displaced 58,000 Palestinians.

　　Apart from the conflict in Gaza, AFP reported on the 19th that Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem staged protests and general strikes on the 18th to protest Israeli military actions. The Associated Press said that the general strike was a rare manifestation of solidarity among Palestinian citizens, who account for 20% of Israel’s population. The Palestinian Jerusalem newspaper called 18th "Angry Tuesday" in Palestine. The Palestinians who marched clashed with the Israeli army. They threw stones and molotov cocktails at the latter, while the Israeli army fired rubber bullets, tear gas and even live ammunition at them, resulting in the death of four Palestinians and hundreds of injuries in Ramallah and other places. According to statistics from the Palestinian Ministry of Health on the 19th, in the so-called "green zone" where Jews and Arabs live together in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Israel, 22 Palestinians have been killed and more than 5,000 injured by the Israeli army since the 7th of this month.

　　"Hope to end the fighting"

　　On the evening of 18th, it was reported that the Gaza Strip would cease fire on the morning of 20th under Egyptian mediation, which triggered denials from all parties concerned. Ezzat Rishke, a senior official of Hamas, said on the 19th that the report that Hamas agreed to such a ceasefire proposal is untrue, and the two sides have not reached an agreement on the specific ceasefire time. "We have been in serious and continuous contact with the mediator, but the demands of our people are open and clear."

　　According to the Israel Times on the 19th, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed more than 70 diplomats in Israel about the conflict in Gaza that morning, saying that Israel "hopes to end the fighting", but there is no "specific timetable". Netanyahu said that Israel tried to "achieve deterrence against Hamas", but did not rule out "other options" including conquering Gaza. In fact, regarding the ceasefire plan, the news released inside Israel is confusing and even contradictory. Israeli high-level officials have held several meetings to study countermeasures for this. Israeli media revealed that Netanyahu will once again host a core cabinet meeting on the evening of the 19th or the morning of the 20th local time to discuss the next step.

　　Biden’s diplomatic cover is "time-limited"

　　Although the international community has tried many ways to mediate, the effect is not obvious at present. The foreign ministers of 27 EU countries held an informal online meeting on the situation in Palestine and Israel on the 18th to draft a joint statement calling for a ceasefire, but Hungary failed to form a unified position because it supported Israel and vetoed the statement by one vote. The United Nations Security Council held its fourth meeting since the escalation of the conflict on the 18th, but the talks broke down in less than an hour without making a statement. According to a diplomat, Greenfield, the permanent representative of the United States to the United Nations, said at the closed meeting of the Security Council on the 18th: "We don’t think making a public statement now will help ease the situation."

　　Although the US government did not set a deadline for a ceasefire to Israel, The New York Times quoted people familiar with the matter as saying on the 19th that Biden, who had publicly supported Israel’s right to self-defense, privately warned Netanyahu that he could no longer stop the growing pressure from the international community and American politicians. This private message implies that Biden’s ability to provide diplomatic cover for Israel has a time limit.

　　Biden’s partiality on the Palestinian-Israeli issue triggered a rebound at home. According to the Detroit Free Press on the 18th, when Biden arrived in dearborn that afternoon to visit the Ford factory, he was protested by thousands of Arab Americans, who said they felt "betrayed".