Israeli army targets Nuseirat refugee camp, causing injuries and multiple deaths [Getty]
Israeli airstrikes on Gaza on Friday killed at least 25 Palestinians, including seven children from the same family, as the relentless bombardment of the territory continues.
Medics confirmed the deaths, with one strike hitting an apartment in the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing at least eight people. Among the victims were children, whose bodies were transported to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital for identification.
In another attack, a family of 10, including seven young siblings, was killed in a bombing on their home in the northern Gaza town of Jabalia.
“There are 10 martyrs… all targeted by an airstrike on their home in Jabalia al-Nazla, southwest of Jabalia,” Mahmud Bassal, a spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defence, told AFP. He added that 15 others were injured in the strike.
The violence has drawn widespread international condemnation. Speaking from Nuseirat in central Gaza, UNRWA’s emergency officer Louise Wateridge said aid was desperately needed in the enclave to support victims of Israeli attacks who have little to protect themselves from the cold and rain.
According to a UNICEF report, children in Gaza are “cold, sick and traumatised”, and 96 percent of women and children cannot meet their basic nutritional needs.
Earlier this month, Amnesty International accused Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinian population, citing its brutal actions in Gaza.
Human Rights Watch echoed this sentiment, accusing Israel of deliberately restricting water supplies, a tactic they described as genocidal. In response, Israel has dismissed the allegations as “false and outrageous.”
Meanwhile, efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have failed to yield results, despite diplomatic efforts from Qatar and Egypt. Sources close to the discussions revealed that some differences between the warring parties were resolved, but significant sticking points remain.
In a separate development, 14 people in Israel sustained minor injuries early Saturday after a missile fired from Yemen failed to be intercepted.
The missile, fired by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, caused shrapnel injuries to civilians in the Tel Aviv area. Israel’s Magen David Adom ambulance service reported that at least 16 people have been injured by the missile strike as a result of broken glass.
A spokesperson for the Iran-aligned Houthis said they had hit a “military target” in the Jaffa area with a ballistic missile.
The Houthis have repeatedly targeted Israel in acts of solidarity with Palestinians.
It comes after Israel’s military conducted strikes on Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen on Thursday, killing at least nine people, in retaliation for the missile attacks.
