DEIR EL-BALAH – During the night, Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip resulted in the deaths of six individuals, among them two children who were inside the tent where their family sought refuge, as reported by medical officials on Sunday.
The strike occurred in the Muwasi region, a large tent camp that accommodates hundreds of displaced persons, injuring the children’s mother and another sibling, according to Nasser Hospital nearby. An observer from the Associated Press present at the hospital confirmed witnessing the deceased bodies.
A separate strike in the southern city of Rafah, on the border with Egypt, killed four men, according to hospital records.
Israeli military authorities did not provide an immediate response. While Israel claims to exclusively target militants and endeavors to prevent civilian casualties, their frequent airstrikes in Gaza commonly result in the deaths of women and children.
In a separate development, a projectile fired by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen set off air raid sirens in central Israel. The Israeli military said it intercepted the projectile before it entered Israeli territory.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around people 250 hostage. Some 100 captives are still being held inside Gaza, around two-thirds of whom are believed to be alive.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 44,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were combatants. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
The war has destroyed vast areas of the coastal enclave and displaced 90% of the population of 2.3 million, often multiple times. Hundreds of thousands have crammed into squalid tent camps, where conditions have worsened as the cold, wet winter sets in.
Israel reached a ceasefire with Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants last week that has largely held, but that agreement, brokered by the United States and France, did not address the ongoing war in Gaza. Iran — which supports Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis and armed groups in Syria and Iraq — has exchanged fire with Israel twice this year.
The United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent much of the past year trying to broker a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the remaining hostages, but those efforts stalled as Israel rejected Hamas’ demand for a complete withdrawal from the territory. The Biden administration has said it will make another push for a deal in its final weeks in office.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to end the wars in the Middle East, without saying how. He was a staunch defender of Israel and its policies toward the Palestinians during his previous term.
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Magdy reported from Cairo
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