At least 28 people killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza – DW – 12/22/2024
Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that Israeli attacks in Gaza overnight and early Sunday killed at least 28 people, including 13 at a family home and eight at a former school.
The latest attacks come as international mediators attempt to secure a long-awaited ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas, which the terrorist group says is “closer than ever.”
What happened during Israel’s latest attacks?
At least eight people, including three children, were killed when Israeli warplanes struck a school building in the al-Draj quarter of Gaza City, where displaced people were taking shelter, WAFA reports.
The Israeli military said the building was being used by Iran-backed Hamas as a command and control center to plan and carry out attacks against Israeli forces. Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by Israel, Germany, the United States, and several other countries.
WAFA also reported an airstrike on a vehicle in Gaza City, killing four Palestinians.
At least 13 people, including three women and two children, were killed in an attack on a house in the central city of Deir al-Balah late Saturday, according to Gaza’s Civil Defense Agency.
A photographer from the AFP news agency saw residents searching through the debris for survivors, while bodies covered in blankets lay on the floor in a nearby compound.
A man and a woman were killed in the strike just after midnight Sunday in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to nearby Nasser Hospital.
According to reports, six more people were killed in the attacks in the center and south of Gaza.
Israel is maintaining pressure on Hamas
Israel has been carrying out daily attacks in Gaza more than 14 months into the war with Hamas. The Israel Defense Forces insist that the military only targets terrorists, whom they say are hiding among civilians, but the bombings often kill women and children.
Israel has faced accusations from human rights groups of “acts of genocide” in Gaza, which the government strongly denies.
According to Palestinian sources, more than 45,200 people have been killed in Gaza since the Hamas-led attacks inside Israel on October 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 were kidnapped.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza has caused widespread destruction and displaced about 90% of the territory’s 2.3 million people.
Ceasefire agreement ‘closer than ever’
Israel and Hamas have recently come close to a ceasefire agreement to end the bloodshed.
Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, were held in Doha last week.
Hamas and two other Palestinian armed groups said in a rare joint statement on Saturday that a deal was “closer than ever.”
The agreement would likely include the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas and Palestinians held hostage by Israel.
On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he remains “hopeful” for a deal, but would not comment on when it would be reached.
mm/sms (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)