More than 100 Palestinians killed in Israel’s overnight attacks on Gaza Strip
More than 100 Palestinians have been killed and many others injured in Israel’s air and land attacks in various parts of the Gaza Strip, according to official Palestinian news agency Wafa. This onslaught comes as Israel’s war on the besieged Palestinian enclave enters its 100th day.
The devastation caused by the attacks is undeniable. The Wafa news agency reported that the bodies of 50 civilians were pulled out from the rubble of a residential building in the densely populated Al-Daraj neighborhood in Gaza City. The building served as the home for families of Al-Shobaki, Al-Zoukh, Hassouna, and Al-Qasim.
The majority of those killed and injured were transported to Al-Shifa Medical Complex and Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City. As the attacks continued, five Palestinians lost their lives in artillery shelling targeting the Sabra and Al-Zeitoun neighborhoods in the city. Ten others sustained injuries.
Israel’s artillery and navy also carried out attacks on the homes of Palestinians living in the Tal Al-Hawa and Sheikh Ajleen areas, southwest of Gaza City. Furthermore, three bodies were retrieved from the rubble in the central Gaza Strip, where their home was hit with missiles in the Al-Sawarha area. Six additional fatalities were discovered in the Al-Maghazi and Al-Bureij refugee camps.
In Khan Younis, a city in the southern Gaza Strip, more than 30 Palestinians, including children and women, were killed in Israeli bombings that targeted their homes. The intensity of the attacks was particularly felt in Rafah, as air strikes on two houses near the Egyptian border and on a vehicle carrying mostly displaced passengers resulted in the deaths of at least 23 individuals.
Israel claims that its offensive is in response to a cross-border attack by a Palestinian resistance group, which it alleges killed 1,200 people in Israel. However, since the conflict began, Palestinian health authorities report that at least 23,843 Palestinians, predominately women and children, have been killed. An additional 60,317 individuals have been injured.
These attacks compound the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The United Nations states that 85% of the population is already internally displaced, facing severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine. Furthermore, 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure is damaged or destroyed.
In a separate development, a local nongovernmental organization revealed that around 5,875 Palestinians have been detained in the occupied West Bank during Israel’s 100-day military raids. Among those detained are 335 children and 200 women. Israel’s policy of administrative detention has led to over 2,856 Palestinians being held without trial or charge since October 7.
The international community continues to monitor the situation closely, with calls for an immediate cessation of violence and the protection of civilian lives growing louder. As the conflict in Gaza enters its 100th day, the death toll and humanitarian crisis continue to worsen, leaving the region in urgent need of a peaceful resolution.
