Israeli Strikes Kill At Least 8 In Gaza, Including Two Children

Israeli strikes in southern and central Gaza on Monday killed at least eight people, including two children, and wounded at least 20 others, according to health officials and emergency services, with one strike hitting a tent in the Al-Mawasi neighborhood after a warning call.

“Toggle Play At least two killed and hundreds displaced in Israeli attack on Gaza An Israeli attack on the al-Mawasi camp in Khan Younis has killed several people, including a mother and her child”

Al Jazeera

In Khan Younis, the Nasser Hospital said a strike killed a 23-year-old mother and her 1-year-old daughter, while another strike on Qarara killed a 31-year-old man, and a separate incident hit a tent sheltering displaced people along the coastal area of Khan Younis, killing two people and wounding 13 others.

Al Jazeera

In central Gaza, a drone strike hit a tent in Deir al-Balah, killing at least three Palestinians including an 8-year-old boy and his grandfather, and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital identified the fatalities as Hassan al-Hanagra and his 8-year-old grandchild, Malik Abu Shawish, along with another man.

Israel’s military said the strike was targeting a militant but did not immediately name him or say if he was killed, and it also said a Sunday strike killed Zaher Abu Salem, describing him as a member of Islamic Jihad involved in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war.

Hamas announced it was halting negotiations for a ceasefire after an Israeli strike targeted its military chief, who two senior officials told AFP “is fine,” and the movement said Israeli strikes killed 92 Palestinians on Saturday at the al-Mawasi displacement camp near Khan Younis.

France 24 reported that Israel said it targeted Mohammed Deif and Rafa Salama in the Khan Younis area, described as “two brains” of the October 7 massacre, and that the Israeli army said the strike was carried out in a fenced area run by Hamas where, according to its information, there were no civilians.

Courrier international

In parallel, UN News said a senior United Nations humanitarian official witnessed “some of the most horrific scenes I have seen during my nine months in Gaza” after the Al-Mawasi bombardment killed at least 90 and wounded 300, and it quoted Scott Anderson describing patients treated on the floor because there were “no beds, hygiene supplies, sheets or gowns.”

UN News also quoted Stéphane Dujarric saying the attack occurred in a densely populated area “designated as a humanitarian zone housing displaced people,” and it added that the UN Secretary-General called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.

NBC News said Israeli forces have carried out near-daily strikes since a ceasefire took hold in October, killing 1,045 Palestinians including more than 360 women and children, and it added that Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 73,058 Palestinians including those killed since the ceasefire.

“Gaza: Hamas announces halt to negotiations for a ceasefire”

France 24

The same NBC report said Israel says it is targeting militants, often saying they were planning attacks on Israeli troops who hold more than 60% of the Gaza Strip, and it noted that five Israeli soldiers have been killed in militant attacks since the ceasefire.

In the UN account of the Al-Mawasi strike, Scott Anderson said ventilation systems were off due to power and fuel shortages and the air was thick with the smell of blood, while UN News warned that obstacles to humanitarian operations prevent support “at the scale needed.”

UN News also stressed that the Secretary-General condemned the killing of civilians, including women and children, and that the UN Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned “the continued use by the Israeli army of wide-impact weapons in densely populated areas of Gaza.”