Medical officials in Gaza reported that Israeli airstrikes killed at least 20 Palestinians, including several children, and wounded dozens more in multiple locations across the strip. The attacks came in direct response to gunfire that seriously injured an Israeli officer near a demarcation line in northern Gaza.
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The Israeli military described the operations as “precise strikes” using tanks and aircraft against militants who opened fire on its forces, calling the incident a clear breach of the fragile ceasefire in place since October. An army source confirmed the wounded officer’s condition as serious but stable.
In Gaza City, Al-Shifa Hospital received 13 bodies, among them five children, after strikes hit tents for displaced families and residential areas in Zeitoun and Tuffah neighborhoods. One grieving resident, Abu Mohammed Haboush, spoke of losing multiple family members: “Our children were martyred – my son was martyred, my brother’s son and daughter were martyred… We have nothing to do with anything, we are peaceful people.”
Israeli strikes kill 22, including 5 journalists, in a Gaza …
Further south, Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis took in four more bodies, including one child, from attacks on tents in Qizan Rashwan. In the coastal al-Mawasi area, designated as a humanitarian zone, two young sisters – Rahaf and Remas Abu Jamea – and paramedic Hussein al-Samiri lost their lives. A first responder recounted how Samiri rushed to aid victims of an initial strike only to be killed in a subsequent one on the same site.
The Palestinian Red Crescent condemned the paramedic’s death as a grave violation of international law protecting medical workers. Hamas quickly accused Israel of using the shooting as an excuse for continued aggression against civilians.
Both sides have traded blame for near-daily ceasefire infractions over the past three months. Gaza’s health ministry says more than 550 Palestinians have died from Israeli fire since the truce began, while Israel reports four soldiers killed in Palestinian attacks.
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The broader conflict, sparked by Hamas’s October 2023 assault on Israel that killed around 1,200 and took 251 hostages, has seen over 71,000 deaths in Gaza according to local authorities.
Quick Summary:
Israeli forces struck Gaza targets after gunfire wounded a soldier, killing at least 20 Palestinians including children and a paramedic in areas like Gaza City, Khan Younis, and al-Mawasi. Israel called it retaliation against militants breaching the ceasefire; Hamas labeled it a pretext for aggression amid ongoing mutual accusations of violations.