Gaza Strip, Palestinian Territories: Israeli strikes killed dozens in Gaza overnight Thursday-Friday, sources on both sides said on the 98th day of the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas.
An AFP journalist reported strikes and artillery shelling hit areas between the southern cities of Khan Yunis and Rafah, which is crowded with people who fled from the north.
The bombardment killed at least 59 people and wounded dozens more across the besieged territory, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said.
The Israeli army said it had killed seven “terrorists” in a strike in Khan Yunis and a further 20 in the Maghazi area to the north.
AFP photographers witnessed black smoke billowing Friday morning above Rafah, where Palestinians gathered beside white body bags of the latest casualties.
“Does anyone care about us? Why is everyone silent?” asked one mourner at the hospital.
Elsewhere in Rafah, resident Fayad Abu Rjeila surveyed the wreckage of a building after an Israeli strike he said had killed civilians in their homes.
“They had nothing to do with anything. People who just wanted to live,” he told AFP.
“Why did they target them?“
Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has killed at least 23,469 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry.
Vowing to eliminate Hamas, Israel has carried out a relentless bombardment, alongside a ground invasion, since Hamas fighters attacked Israel on October 7.
Their unprecedented attack resulted in the death of about 1,140 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
The charity Oxfam International said on Thursday that the daily death toll in Gaza was higher than any other major conflict this century.
Oxfam’s Sally Abi Khalil said it is “unimaginable” that the international community stands by as the killing unfolds.
In northern Gaza, the World Health Organization said it had reached Gaza’s largest hospital on Thursday, delivering desperately needed fuel and medical supplies.
“The team reported that Al-Shifa, previously Gaza’s premier hospital, has (partially) re-established services,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X, formerly Twitter.
Dozens die in Israeli bombardment of central and southern Gaza
https://arab.news/b33kz
Dozens die in Israeli bombardment of central and southern Gaza
- The bombardment killed at least 59 people and wounded dozens more
- Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has killed at least 23,469 people
UN chief condemns Israeli law blocking electricity, water for UNRWA facilities
- The agency provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned on Wednesday a move by Israel to ban electricity or water to facilities owned by the UN Palestinian refugee agency, a UN spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said the move would “further impede” the agency’s ability to operate and carry out activities.
“The Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations remains applicable to UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), its property and assets, and to its officials and other personnel. Property used by UNRWA is inviolable,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the secretary-general, said while adding that UNRWA is an “integral” part of the world body.
UNRWA Commissioner General Phillipe Lazzarini also condemned the move, saying that it was part of an ongoing “ systematic campaign to discredit UNRWA and thereby obstruct” the role it plays in providing assistance to Palestinian refugees.
In 2024, the Israeli parliament passed a law banning the agency from operating in the country and prohibiting officials from having contact with the agency.
As a result, UNRWA operates in East Jerusalem, which the UN considers territory occupied by Israel. Israel considers all Jerusalem to be part of the country.
The agency provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. It has long had tense relations with Israel but ties have deteriorated sharply since the start of the war in Gaza and Israel has called repeatedly for UNRWA to be disbanded, with its responsibilities transferred to other UN agencies.
The prohibition of basic utilities to the UN agency came as Israel also suspended of dozens of international non-governmental organizations working in Gaza due to a failure to meet new rules to vet those groups.
In a joint statement, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom said on Tuesday such a move would have a severe impact on the access of essential services, including health care. They said one in three health care facilities in Gaza would close if international NGO operations stopped.
