Hamas-controlled health ministry says 50 people killed in Gaza in Israeli strikes
Local medics and rescue teams reported that more than 50 people were killed in Israeli air and ground strikes in the Gaza Strip on Sunday.50 people died in Gaza in Israeli attacks
It was stated that among the dead were children, a cameraman working for Al Jazeera television and employees of the Civil Defense organization.
The Israeli army said it targeted points used by Hamas and the allied armed group Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The Ministry of Health affiliated with Hamas reported that the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza in the 14-month war between Israel and Hamas exceeded 45 thousand.
The Ministry does not distinguish between warriors and civilians, but reported that 29 thousand 980 children, women and the elderly were among the casualties detected in October.
The Israeli government often denies these figures, saying approximately 20,000 “terrorists” were killed, but these figures are generally accepted by UN agencies.
The war began when armed groups led by Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Approximately 1,200 people died and 251 people were taken hostage in the attack.
Most of those killed Sunday were at a UN school used to shelter displaced families in the southern city of Khan Younis.
A bloody image emerged on the third floor of Ahmed bin Abdulaziz School. It was seen that the bodies of children were among those taken out of the school.
“People were safe, they were staying in their homes after performing evening prayers. They were sitting, sleeping and staying in their places,” Manal Tafesh, whose brother and children were among those killed, told Reuters news agency outside a local morgue.
While medics said at least 13 people had died, a spokesman for the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said he had heard reports of around 20 deaths, mostly women and children.
“It doesn’t stop. The pain and suffering is so brutal that we just keep going,” Louise Wateridge told the BBC from central Gaza.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that a “sharp attack” was carried out against Hamas terrorists operating in the command and control center inside the school.
It was also alleged that Hamas and other armed groups exploited civilians and used civilian infrastructure as human shields.
Medics said several more people were killed at another school turned shelter in the northern town of Beit Hanoun, where the UN says it has been under siege by Israeli forces for more than two months.
The UN said it was monitoring reports that more than 1,500 people were displaced after Israeli forces surrounded and shelled the Khalil Aweida school.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Sunday that its forces “conducted a targeted attack on the terrorist meeting point in the Beit Hanoun area.”
“In cooperation with the Israeli Air Force, soldiers shot dozens of terrorists both from the air and on the ground, and additional terrorists were captured,” the statement said.
The Civil Defense building in Nuseyrat Refugee Camp in central Gaza was also hit.
Civil Defense spokesman Mahmud Basal said that the directors of Nuseyrat and Sheikh Radwan centers as well as two volunteers were killed in the attack, and one of them was named Ahmed Baker al-Louh. He also added that five more people were injured, three of whom were in critical condition.
“The Israeli occupation has once again shown the world that there is no protection for humanitarian workers in Gaza and that international humanitarian law is not respected.” Çavuşoğlu noted that 94 Civil Defense employees have been killed since the beginning of the war.
Ahmed al-Louh was a cameraman for the Qatar-based Al Jazeera television station, which harshly condemned Israel’s “targeted killing” of its journalists.
It was stated that Louh followed the rescue operation carried out by Civil Defense after the attack on Sunday, and that this took place “just a few days after his home was targeted”.
“The network calls on all human rights and media organizations to condemn the Israeli occupation’s systematic killing of journalists in cold blood and its evasion of responsibilities under international humanitarian law, and to bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice,” the statement said.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the Civil Defense building was used “by terrorists to plan and carry out an imminent terrorist attack against IDF troops.”
It was claimed that “Among the terrorists neutralized in the attack was Islamic Jihad terrorist Ahmed Bakr al-Luh, who previously served as a platoon commander in Islamic Jihad’s Central Camps Brigade,” but no evidence was provided.
It was stated that Louh followed the rescue operation carried out by Civil Defense after the attack on Sunday, and that this took place “just a few days after his home was targeted”.
“The network calls on all human rights and media organizations to condemn the Israeli occupation’s systematic killing of journalists in cold blood and its evasion of responsibilities under international humanitarian law, and to bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice,” the statement said.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the Civil Defense building was used “by terrorists to plan and carry out an imminent terrorist attack against IDF troops.”
It was claimed that “Among the terrorists neutralized in the attack was Islamic Jihad terrorist Ahmed Bakr al-Luh, who previously served as a platoon commander in Islamic Jihad’s Central Camps Brigade,” but no evidence was provided.
While Al Jazeera did not comment on Israel’s claims, Louh’s cousin Mahmoud told the Associated Press, “We are stunned by Israel’s statement of occupation.”
“These allegations are false and misleading allegations intended to cover up the crime,” he said.