- विज्ञापन -
Gaza’s Civil Defence Agency reported on Wednesday that at least 20 people, including six children, were killed in two Israeli airstrikes overnight in the Palestinian territory.
Agency spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told AFP that the first strike targeted a tent housing displaced individuals in Khan Yunis in the south shortly after midnight local time (2100 GMT Tuesday), and a second hit a camp in the north shortly afterward.
The Israeli military stated that it was reviewing the reports when contacted by AFP.
The bombings occurred while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington to discuss the ongoing efforts to defeat Hamas in Gaza. Following the meeting, Netanyahu reaffirmed Israel’s goal of securing the release of all hostages taken during the October 7, 2023, attack by Palestinian militants, and of eliminating Hamas’s military and governing capabilities.
Gaza’s civil defence reported that 29 people were killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza on Tuesday, including those displaced by 21 months of conflict.
Bassal said the first strike on Wednesday killed 10 members of the same family sheltering in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis. The second attack, on the Al-Shati camp near Gaza City, left over 30 wounded. Both victims belonged to two different families.
Zuhair Judeh, 40, who witnessed the Al-Shati airstrike, described the explosion as “massive, like an earthquake,” saying it destroyed homes and scattered bodies and remains of those killed, labeling it a “horrific massacre.” Several people are still missing, likely trapped under rubble.
Abeer al-Sharbasi, 36, called the airstrike “terrifying” and recounted that it happened while she and her family were sleeping in a nearby tent, expressing despair and saying, “You can’t predict when or why they’ll bomb you. We have nothing left but to surrender to God.”
Due to restrictions on media access and difficulty in reaching the area in Gaza, AFP cannot independently verify the casualty figures or details provided by the parties involved.
Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel resulted in 1,219 deaths, mostly civilians, according to AFP’s tally based on Israeli official data. Of the 251 hostages taken during that attack, 49 remain held in Gaza, including 27 believed to be dead, as per Israeli military reports.
Israel’s retaliatory strikes have caused the deaths of at least 57,575 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, a figure the UN considers credible.
