CAIRO. At least 17 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in an Israeli airstrike on the town of Zawayda in central Gaza on Saturday, according to health officials in the Hamas-administered enclave. The casualties included eight children and four women, all from the same family, highlighting the devastating impact of the ongoing conflict.
Abu Ahmed Hassan, a neighbor of the victims, described the tragedy: “They were asleep in their beds, kids and babies, then three missiles targeted their place.” He noted that the house’s owner was a known merchant and insisted, “There are no military activities here at all.”
The Israeli military confirmed it was investigating reports of the strike. Meanwhile, the military’s Arabic spokesperson issued evacuation orders on Saturday for parts of central Gaza, including the Maghazi district near Zawayda, instructing residents to move to designated humanitarian zones. The military claimed that militants had been firing rockets from these areas and that action was imminent.
However, it remains unclear whether Zawayda was included in the evacuation orders, as Reuters could not immediately verify this information. Residents reported thousands of people fleeing Maghazi.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that recent evacuation orders affected around 170,000 displaced people, shrinking the so-called “humanitarian area” to just 41 square kilometers, or about 11% of the total area of the Gaza Strip.
In the central part of Gaza, residents witnessed Israeli tanks advancing into the eastern area of Deir Al-Balah, a location previously uninvaded, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are seeking shelter.
Since Friday, the Israeli military claimed to have killed dozens of militants, including some who had fired rockets from central and southern Gaza.
The conflict, which has displaced most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, has been ongoing for 10 months. The Israeli military campaign was triggered by a Hamas attack on October 7, which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and led to the taking of around 250 hostages, according to Israeli authorities. In response, Israel’s military actions have resulted in over 40,000 Palestinian deaths, most of them civilians, according to Gaza health officials. Israel has also lost 330 soldiers in the fighting and asserts that at least a third of the Palestinian casualties are militants.
Ceasefire Talks Stalled
Ceasefire negotiations in Doha, mediated by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, were paused on Friday, with talks set to resume next week. The goal is to reach an agreement to end the hostilities and secure the release of the remaining hostages.
U.S. President Joe Biden emphasized on Friday that no party in the Middle East should undermine efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal, warning that while a resolution is within sight, the negotiations are “far from over.”
Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri responded by dismissing reports of an imminent agreement as “deceptive claims.”
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
