In the ongoing conflict in Gaza, Israeli air raids have caused extensive damage and resulted in the deaths of at least 31 people, including children, according to Palestinian officials and media reports. The attacks targeted the Bureij and Nuseirat refugee camps in central Gaza, adding to the already devastating toll on the besieged territory, which has endured 44 days of bombardment.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza, under the Hamas government, confirmed the deaths in the refugee camps, while the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported the killings of a woman and her child in strikes in southern Khan Younis city. Furthermore, Israeli forces shot dead two individuals, including a disabled man, during incursions in the occupied West Bank. Issam al-Fayed, a 46-year-old disabled man, was killed at the entrance of the Jenin refugee camp, while 20-year-old Omar Laham was killed at the Dheisheh refugee camp south of Bethlehem.
These recent killings follow devastating assaults on schools and refugee camps in northern Gaza. Al-Fakhoora school in the Jabalia refugee camp was attacked, resulting in the deaths of at least 50 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Another school in Tall az-Zaatar also experienced casualties. Witnesses described horrifying scenes, with corpses of women and children scattered on the ground, causing immense suffering and death. Marwan Bishara, a senior political analyst, compared al-Fakhoora school to al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest medical facility, both repeatedly targeted by Israeli forces.
The situation at al-Shifa Hospital has also raised humanitarian concerns as hundreds of people were forced to flee on foot upon orders from the Israeli army. The hospital’s director reported that sick and injured individuals, including amputees, left alongside displaced people, doctors, and nurses. The bombing of the hospital has been condemned as a war crime and a deliberate insult to the United Nations by Egypt, while Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA, described the scene as horrifying.
The World Health Organization has assessed the aftermath of the bombing, revealing that 291 patients were left at the hospital, including 32 critically ill babies, trauma patients with severe infections, and individuals with spinal injuries who are unable to move. The UN health agency emphasized the desperate humanitarian crisis resulting from the 44-day war, which has displaced 1.5 million Palestinians, claimed the lives of at least 11,500 people, and caused significant damage to infrastructure in Gaza.
The conflict began on October 7 when the Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israeli territory, prompting a devastating air and ground assault by Israel. The disproportionate impact on civilians, particularly children, has sparked international outrage and calls for urgent action to address the dire situation in Gaza.
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