Five Palestinian children among 14 killed by Israel in heavy Gaza bombing
Israeli fighter jets heavily bombed the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing at least 14 Palestinians, including five children.
The strikes hit displacement tents in Khan Younis, schools-turned-shelters in northern Gaza, and homes in the Nuseirat refugee camp and Gaza City.
The escalation comes three months after Israel and Hamas signed a ceasefire, intended to end the genocidal war and lift the siege.
However, Israel has repeatedly violated the agreement, killing 439 people in three months in nearly 1,200 violations, including air strikes, shelling and the demolition of homes.
Israel has also largely maintained the blockade, keeping boundary crossings closed and severely restricting humanitarian aid.
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Philippe Lazzarini, head of Unrwa, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said assistance “is still not at scale”.
“People are still living in fragile shelters,” he told Anadolu Agency on Thursday. “Only tents that are not waterproof have arrived, which do not protect the population. People continue to lack almost everything.”
Hamas condemned Thursday’s strikes, accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement and obstructing the transition to a second phase of the US-backed plan for Gaza.
'She was just an innocent girl. She was shot in the head. Why?'
- Uncle of Palestinian girl killed
“We call on the mediators and the countries guaranteeing the ceasefire agreement to condemn these grave violations, overseen by war criminal [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu on false and fabricated pretexts,” Hamas said.
The Israeli military said a “failed projectile” was launched from Gaza City towards Israel but fell inside the Gaza Strip. It provided no evidence to support the claim.
The military said it carried out the strikes in response, targeting Hamas infrastructure and fighters.
Among those killed on Thursday was 11-year-old Hamsa Nidal Hawso.
“Isn’t there a ceasefire? Aren’t we done with the war?” her uncle told local media.
“She was just an innocent girl. She was shot in the head. Why?”
Since 7 October 2023, Israeli forces have killed more than 71,400 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including at least 20,000 children, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
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