Deir al-Balah: At least 13 people, including women and children, were killed in two separate Israeli airstrikes in Gaza on Saturday. This comes as Israel confirmed the first aid delivery to the war-torn northern Gaza in weeks, officials said.
One of the Israeli strikes hit a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City’s eastern Tufah neighborhood, killing at least six people, including two local journalists, a pregnant woman, and a child, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The Israeli army claimed the strike targeted a militant from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group but provided no evidence or further details.
Another seven people were killed in an Israeli strike on a tent sheltering displaced individuals in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, according to Nasser Hospital. The victims included two women and a child. The Israeli army did not immediately comment on the attack.
COGAT, the Israeli military body in-charge for humanitarian aid to Gaza, announced on Saturday that 11 trucks carrying food, water, and medical supplies reached the northern part of the enclave, including the Jabaliya refugee camp. This marks the first aid delivery to northern Gaza since Israel launched a new military campaign there last month.
The announcement comes days a ahead of a US deadline demanding that Israel improve aid deliveries across Gaza. Experts have said there is a strong likelihood that famine is imminent in parts of northern Gaza.
Israel’s new offensive has focusing on Jabaliya, a densely populated refugee camp where Israel says Hamas had regrouped. Other areas affected by the new campaign include Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, situated just north of Gaza City.
The UN estimates that tens of thousands of people remain in the area. Earlier this week, the Gaza Health Ministry said that there were no ambulances or emergency crews currently operating north of Gaza City.
Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, the Israeli army has struck several schools and tent camps, packed with tens of thousands of Palestinians driven from their homes by Israeli offensives and evacuation orders. The conflict has left 90% of Palestinians in Gaza displaced, according to UN figures.
The military has continually accused Hamas of operating from within civilian infrastructure in Gaza, including schools, UN facilities and hospitals. The contesting narratives over the use of schools and hospitals go to the heart of 13 month conflict.
In July, Israeli airstrikes hit a girls’ school in Gaza’s central city of Deir al-Balah, killing at least 30 people sheltering inside. Israel’s military said it targeted a Hamas command centre used to direct attacks against its troops and store “large quantities of weapons”.
More than a year of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 people, Palestinian health officials say. They do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but say more than half of those killed were women and children. The war began after Palestinian militants stormed into Israel on Oct 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others.
(with agency inputs)
13 Killed in Israeli Strikes, as First Aid in Weeks Reaches North Gaza world-news World News | Latest International News | Global World News | World Breaking Headlines Today
