GAZA — A devastating Israeli strike in the Gaza town of Zawayda resulted in the tragic loss of at least 17 Palestinians, with many more injured, according to health officials. This occurred on Saturday as Israel issued fresh evacuation orders in response to nearby Hamas rocket fire.
Health officials from the Hamas-administered enclave reported that the majority of the casualties belonged to a single family, including eight children and four women.
The Israeli military acknowledged the reports of the strike and stated that they were conducting an investigation into the incident.
“The victims were peacefully sleeping in their beds, including children and infants, when three missiles targeted their home,” shared Abu Ahmed Hassan, a local resident. He added that the owner of the house was a well-known merchant and insisted, “There are no military activities here at all.”
On Saturday, the Arabic spokesperson for the Israeli military posted evacuation instructions on X for residents in certain parts of central Gaza, including the Maghazi district near Zawayda, directing them to a designated humanitarian zone.
The spokesperson claimed that militants were launching rockets from these areas and that the military was preparing to retaliate.
Reuters was unable to immediately confirm whether any parts of Zawayda were included in the evacuation orders or if the residents received the military’s instructions. However, residents reported that thousands were fleeing from Maghazi.
On Friday, the military deemed two sections of the southern city of Khan Younis, located within Israel’s designated humanitarian zone, as dangerous due to regular rocket fire from militants and ordered evacuations.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that Friday’s evacuation orders, which also encompassed other areas outside the humanitarian zones, affected approximately 170,000 displaced individuals.
“This is one of the largest evacuation orders affecting the zone to date and it shrinks the size of the so-called ‘humanitarian area’ to about 41 square kilometers, or 11 percent of the total area of the Gaza Strip,” stated an OCHA report.
In the central part of the enclave, residents reported that Israeli tanks advanced further into the eastern area of Deir Al-Balah, an area previously untouched, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are seeking refuge.
The Israeli military reported that since Friday, its forces had eliminated dozens of militants, including those who had launched rockets from central and southern Gaza.
The majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million inhabitants have been displaced by the Israeli offensive, which has been ongoing for 10 months and has caused extensive damage to the enclave.
Ceasefire talks on hold
Negotiations for a ceasefire in Doha, mediated by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, were put on hold on Friday. The negotiators are set to reconvene next week in hopes of reaching an agreement to end the conflict between Israel and Hamas and secure the release of remaining hostages.
U.S. President Joe Biden expressed on Friday that no party in the Middle East should hinder efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal, which he believes is within reach. However, he cautioned that negotiations were “far from over.”
In response, Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri dismissed reports of an imminent agreement as “deceptive claims”.
The conflict began on Oct. 7 when Hamas attacked Israel, resulting in the death of 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the capture of about 250 hostages, as per Israeli records.
Israel’s subsequent military campaign has resulted in the death of over 40,000 Palestinians, the majority of whom were civilians, according to Gaza health authorities. Israel has lost 330 soldiers in Gaza and estimates that at least a third of the Palestinian casualties were combatants.
Disagree Israel has the right to defend itself.
After study a few of the blog posts on your website now, and I truly like your way of blogging. I bookmarked it to my bookmark website list and will be checking back soon. Pls check out my web site as well and let me know what you think.
This website is my intake, real fantastic layout and perfect content material.
Definitely believe that which you said. Your favorite justification seemed to be on the web the simplest thing to be aware of. I say to you, I certainly get annoyed while people think about worries that they plainly do not know about. You managed to hit the nail upon the top as well as defined out the whole thing without having side-effects , people could take a signal. Will likely be back to get more. Thanks
As I website possessor I believe the content matter here is rattling great , appreciate it for your hard work. You should keep it up forever! Best of luck.
WONDERFUL Post.thanks for share..more wait .. …
Respect to post author, some good information .
Lovely just what I was looking for.Thanks to the author for taking his clock time on this one.