Gaza, MINA – In a tragic escalation of violence, an Israeli occupation airstrike killed at least 16 Palestinian civilians, including 10 children, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza. The victims were reportedly waiting in line to receive nutritional aid when the attack occurred near the al-Bashir laundry, close to the al-Zuwari junction.
According to reports from Al Mayadeen, the strike targeted a crowd of desperate women and children during a time of severe food shortages.
Eyewitnesses described a horrifying scene, with bodies of young children and mothers lying motionless on the ground. Footage from the aftermath has circulated widely on local media.
At the same time, Israeli tanks opened fire on displaced families sheltering in tents in the al-Maslakh area west of Khan Younis. Many sustained injuries as their makeshift shelters were destroyed.
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Israeli occupation military vehicles also opened heavy machine gun fire in the al-Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City, while demolition operations continued across southern and eastern Gaza.
This attack comes amid growing international alarm over the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) recently warned that approximately 50,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women are facing severe malnutrition, with many having gone days without food. The lack of baby formula and the inability of mothers to breastfeed has caused a spike in premature and underweight births.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) released new data showing a tenfold increase in child mortality in Gaza since the war began in October 2023. A mortality survey by MSF’s Epicentre unit found that nearly half of blast injury victims among their staff’s families were children, 40% of whom were under ten.
Since the start of the Israeli aggression, nearly 57,600 Palestinians, mostly women and children have been killed. Gaza’s health system is near total collapse, with widespread shortages of medicine, destruction of hospitals, and limited access to emergency care. []
Also Read: Israeli Occupation Army Deploys Two Additional Battalions to West Bank
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