Scores Martyred in Intensified ’Israeli’ Strikes in Gaza Despite Truce Talks

By Staff, Agencies

At least 55 Palestinians, including eight children, have been martyred in "Israeli" attacks across the Gaza Strip since dawn on Thursday, local hospital sources said.

Aerial strikes and ground assaults across the besieged coastal territory intensified on Thursday amid ongoing indirect ceasefire negotiations with Hamas. 

Witnesses said 17 individuals, including eight children and two women, lost their lives in an attack near a medical facility in the city of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.

Yousef Al-Aydi, 30, a survivor, recounted the horror. He was one of many individuals, primarily women and children, who were waiting for nutritional supplements outside the medical point.

“Suddenly, we heard the sound of a drone approaching, and then the explosion happened. The ground shook beneath our feet, and everything around us turned into blood and deafening screams.”

Another witness, Mohammed Abu Ouda, 35, described seeing a mother and child lying lifeless on the ground.

“I saw a mother hugging her child on the ground, both motionless — they were killed instantly. What was our fault? What was the fault of the children?”

At least four Palestinians were also martyred in an "Israeli" attack on the al-Karama neighborhood northwest of Gaza City, a source at al-Shifa Hospital said. Others sustained wounds in the attack.

Three more Palestinians, including a woman, were martyred near an aid center north of the southern city of Rafah, sources at Nasser Hospital said.

In the north, two people were martyred in an "Israeli" attack near al-Zahraa school east of Gaza City, sources at Ahli Hospital said.

One person was martyred southwest of the southern city of Khan Younis by "Israeli" military fire. 

Moreover, at least two Palestinians were martyred and five were wounded in a new "Israeli" attack on civilians gathering near al-Daraj School in Gaza City.