Image credits: Al Jazeera
In a devastating escalation of violence, an Israeli airstrike on a warehouse sheltering displaced Palestinians in the az-Zawayda area of central Gaza has killed 15 members of a single family, including nine children. The attack occurred overnight on Saturday, leaving the Ajlah family decimated, according to Mahmoud Basal, a civil defence spokesperson in Gaza.
The total death toll from the strike, which also claimed the life of one other individual, has risen to 16. According to reports from Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, the warehouse, situated a few kilometers south of the Nuseirat refugee camp, was hit by three Israeli missiles. He described the scene as one of utter devastation, with a massive fire breaking out and engulfing the warehouse, leaving nothing but charred remains. Rescue teams are still working to recover more bodies from the debris.
The bodies of the victims have been taken to Al-Aqsa Hospital’s morgue, where they await burial. The attack has caused widespread grief and frustration among the local population, as entire families are being wiped out by the ongoing strikes.
This airstrike follows a series of intense Israeli military operations across the Gaza Strip, which have particularly targeted residential areas. Al Jazeera’s Abu Azzoum reported that other airstrikes in the enclave have also resulted in significant civilian casualties, including an attack that killed at least seven members of another family in the Nuseirat refugee camp.
In response to the escalating violence, Israel issued new evacuation orders on Saturday, this time directing residents of central Gaza’s Maghazi refugee camp and several other neighborhoods to leave immediately. According to Avichay Adraee, the Israel military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, these areas were targeted because Hamas had reportedly fired rockets from them. Adraee urged residents to move to designated humanitarian zones for their safety, warning of a forceful military response.
The new wave of evacuations is the third in as many days, displacing tens of thousands more people and exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis. Displaced families are increasingly concentrated in places like Deir el-Balah, which is now struggling to accommodate the massive influx of refugees.
On the diplomatic front, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to travel to Israel to advance efforts toward securing a ceasefire. While President Joe Biden has expressed optimism that a ceasefire deal is within reach, Hamas has dismissed these claims, with senior official Sami Abu Zuhri describing the negotiations as mere American-imposed diktats, rather than genuine dialogue.
As of Saturday, Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported that Israeli attacks have claimed 69 lives and injured 136 people over the past 48 hours. Since the conflict began on October 7, the total casualty count in Gaza has reached 40,074 fatalities and 92,537 injuries. Meanwhile, in Israel, the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 resulted in 1,139 deaths, with more than 200 people still held captive.