Israeli airstrikes on Gaza result in the deaths of 17 Palestinians, including a journalist, as the humanitarian crisis deepens.
The ongoing Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip has killed at least 17 Palestinians, including journalist Omar al-Dirawi, Al-Jazeera reported.
The strikes intensified early Friday morning, following a day of escalated air raids on the besieged Strip.
Medical sources reported that 90 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Thursday, with 43 of the fatalities occurring in northern Gaza.
In the early hours of Friday, nine Palestinians, including al-Dirawi, were killed in Israeli airstrikes targeting three homes in the central Gaza Strip.
Al-Diraoui was killed in an attack on his family’s home in Al-Zawaida, central Gaza. This follows the killing of photojournalist Hassan al-Qishawi, who was targeted by an Israeli drone west of Gaza City the previous day.
Omar al-Dirawi posted this last month. He was killed today. He is no longer a survivor. pic.twitter.com/wHwzrukmio
— Mosab Abu Toha (@MosabAbuToha) January 3, 2025
Further bombardments caused additional casualties. Four Palestinians were killed, and others injured, in strikes on Al-Barbari Station along Al-Jalaa Street in western Gaza City.
Another four Palestinians were killed in Deir Al-Balah, in central Gaza, when an Israeli airstrike targeted a residential home.
In the Nuseirat refugee camp, five Palestinians, including two children, were killed after Israeli forces bombed an apartment. In nearby Al-Sawarha, southwest of the camp, a strike on a home caused multiple injuries.
West of Gaza City, four Palestinians were killed and several others injured in a strike on Al-Shati Refugee Camp.
Near the entrance to Jabaliya refugee camp, an airstrike on the Abu Labda family home claimed nine lives and left others wounded. Victims were transported to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah.
In northern Khan Yunis, an airstrike targeted a tent housing displaced families, leaving four dead, including a child, and injuring several others, according to Nasser Hospital medical sources.
Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal reported 20 deaths in two Israeli massacres on Jabaliya Al-Nazla and Al-Mawasi. He emphasized that most of the victims were women and children, accusing Israel of pursuing a policy of ethnic cleansing.
In northern Gaza, Israeli forces reportedly set fire to several schools and homes near the Indonesian Hospital, further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the region.
The farewell of the journalist Omar Dirawi who was killed along with members of his family after the bombing of their home in Maghazi refugee camp, central Gaza. pic.twitter.com/0JBVqXgZS6
— Eye on Palestine (@EyeonPalestine) January 3, 2025
Ongoing Genocide
The ongoing Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, which began on October 7, 2023, has led to a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented scale. As the death toll among besieged and starved Palestinian civilians continues to rise daily, Israel is currently facing charges of genocide against Palestinians before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, at least 45,581 Palestinians have been killed, and 108,438 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023.
The toll is expected to rise further, with at least 11,000 people still unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes across Gaza.
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The war, which Palestinians call “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” began after a military operation carried out by Hamas on Israeli territory. Israel reports that 1,200 of its soldiers and civilians were killed during the initial attack on October 7. However, Israeli media have raised concerns that a significant number of Israeli casualties were caused by ‘friendly fire’ during the assault.
Human rights organizations, both Palestinian and international, have reported that the overwhelming majority of the casualties in Gaza are women and children. The ongoing violence has also exacerbated an acute famine, with thousands of children among the dead, highlighting the severity of the humanitarian disaster.
The war has displaced nearly two million people from their homes across Gaza, with the majority of the displaced forced into the already overcrowded southern region of the Strip. The population in Gaza remains trapped in the ongoing conflict, with little access to basic necessities such as food, water, and medical care.
(PC, AJA)
Every pair of eyes are killed, 1 million new eyes open wide.