Three children among 16 killed in Israeli strikes

Express Tribune

05-05-2025

Gaza's civil defence agency on Sunday said Israeli strikes on the Palestinian territory killed 16 people, including at least three children.
Six people were killed in overnight air strikes in Khan Yunis governorate, in the south of the Gaza Strip, civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said. They included two boys aged five and two, in an apartment in Al-Mawasi.
The civil defence later said 10 more people were killed in a strike on a tent also in Al-Mawasi, among them a child and seven women.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond for comment when contact by AFP. A spokesperson said they were gathering details.
Israel resumed its military offensive in Gaza on March 18 after a two-month truce in its war against Hamas.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza on Sunday said at least 2,436 people have been killed since Israel resumed its campaign in Gaza, bringing the war's overall death toll to 52,535.
UN agencies have urged Israel to lift restrictions, saying Gazans have been experiencing a humanitarian catastrophe and warning of famine.
Meanwhile, European and US carriers cancelled flights for the next several days after a missile fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Sunday landed near Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, the country's main international travel gateway.
Many foreign airlines subsequently suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv after the missile hit, sending a plume of smoke into the air and causing panic among passengers in the terminal building.
Following a ceasefire deal with Hamas in January, foreign carriers had begun to resume flights to Israel after halting them for much of the last year and a half since Oct 7, 2023.
United cancelled its twice daily flights between Tel Aviv and Newark while it monitors the situation. Earlier, flights from Tel Aviv on Delta and United on Sunday morning departed about 90 minutes late.
Lufthansa Group, which includes Lufthansa, Swiss, Brussels and Austrian, said it had halted flights to and from Tel Aviv through Tuesday due to the current situation.
ITA said it had cancelled flights from Italy to Israel through Wednesday, while Air France cancelled flights on Sunday, saying customers were transferred to flights on Monday. TUS flights to and from Cyprus were cancelled through Monday, while Air India flights from New Delhi were halted on Sunday. Ryanair suspended flights on Sunday. Wizz also halted flights.
"I'm afraid it's going to be very difficult to go back to France because all European carriers, from what I see on the information (board), have cancelled. Lufthansa have cancelled, Swiss have cancelled, Brussels (Airlines), so no connection is possible," said Michael Sceemes, 56, whose Air France flight was cancelled.
In addition, Malta offered to repair an aid ship and send it on its way to Gaza after pro-Palestinian activists said the vessel had been hit by a drone strike.
But Prime Minister Robert Abela said the Freedom Flotilla Coalition must first allow a maritime surveyor on board to inspect the "Conscience" and determine what repairs are needed.
The pro-Palestinian activists had pointed the finger at Israel, which has blockaded the Gaza Strip throughout its military campaign against Hamas, for the attack. AFP/Reuters