Gaza rescuers report 23 killed by Israeli forces, including children

GAZA: Gaza’s Civil Defense Agency said Israeli airstrikes and gunfire killed 23 people, including at least three children, in the war-torn Palestinian territory on Sunday.

Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassal told AFP that his services “transported 23 martyrs, including several children and women,” to various locations around the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military told AFP it was not able to comment on the reported incidents but said it was fighting to “eliminate Hamas’ military capabilities” in a campaign launched to root out the Islamic militant group after its October 2023 invasion of Israel.

Bassal said two children were killed in an airstrike on his home in the Zeytoun neighborhood of Gaza City early in the morning, adding that “the house was completely destroyed.”

A family member, Abdulrahman Azzam, 45, told AFP that he was at home when he heard “a loud explosion at my relative’s house”.

“I went out in panic and saw the house destroyed and on fire,” he added.

“We evacuated more than 20 wounded, including two martyrs — two children from the family. The screams of children and women were unbearable,” Azam said.

“They bombed the house with missiles without any prior warning. This is a horrific crime. We sleep without knowing if we will wake up.”

Elsewhere, Bassil said a drone strike on a tent settlement of displaced people near the southern city of Khan Yunis killed five people, including a child, while Israeli fire also killed four more in Rafah, further south.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing many areas meant that AFP was unable to independently verify the toll and details provided by aid workers.

Israeli soldier killed

The Israeli military said in a statement on Sunday that a 20-year-old soldier was killed “during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip.”

The military had earlier in the day issued evacuation orders for parts of Gaza City and nearby areas to the north of the territory.

Military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a statement on X that the army “will operate with intense force in these areas, and these military operations will intensify and expand… to destroy the capabilities of extremist organizations.”

It told residents in the Al-Mawasi area on the southern coast to “immediately evacuate.”

The Civil Defense Agency later said the Israeli airstrike hit a house in Gaza City, killing three people.

House destroyed

Ahmed Arar, 60, a resident of the northern town of Jabaliya, said his family’s home was destroyed after he received a warning that it would be bombed by a man identifying himself as an Israeli military officer.

“About half an hour later, they bombed the house, and it was completely destroyed,” he told media by telephone.

He said the family had evacuated the house several days earlier due to repeated shelling and airstrikes.

Israel launched its campaign in Gaza on October 7, 2023, in response to a Hamas attack, which has killed 1,219 people, most of them civilians.

At least 56,500 people have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to the Hamas-ruled territory’s health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.

After claiming victory in a 12-day war against Iran that ended with a ceasefire on Tuesday, the Israeli military said it would refocus its offensive in Gaza, where Palestinian militants are still holding Israelis hostage.