3 days ago
Eid attacks: Israel pounds Gaza as calls mount to stop ‘War on Childhood'
Shafaq News/ On the first day of Eid al-Adha, Israel intensified its military campaign on Gaza, amid urgent calls to end what UNICEF described as a 'brutal war against childhood.'
According to Arab media outlets, Israeli strikes on Sunday hit multiple areas across the Strip, causing casualties and destruction. In Khan Younis, a drone strike on tents sheltering displaced families west of the city killed three and wounded others, while a child was shot dead northwest of the city, and homes were demolished in al-Qarara to the northeast.
In Gaza City, artillery shelling hit the al-Tuffah neighborhood, sparking fires and damaging homes, while airstrikes in Jabalia struck residential areas and artillery targeted the northern part of Nuseirat camp.
Journalist Ahmad Qalaja reportedly died from injuries sustained in an earlier Israeli strike on a press tent near Al-Mamadani Hospital.
The latest figures from Gaza's Ministry of Health put the death toll since October 7, 2023, at 54,677, with 125,530 injured, while many victims remain trapped under the rubble.
Meanwhile, Israeli media confirmed that five Israeli soldiers were killed and two others wounded in an ambush in Khan Yunis, where a building collapsed on them in the southern Gaza Strip.
As casualties continue to rise, the humanitarian situation is deteriorating further. The US-backed-Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) announced the closure of its aid distribution points, citing safety concerns. Earlier this week, the GHF suspended operations for over a day after Israeli forces killed and injured hundreds of starving Palestinians seeking aid. The UN has reported that over 2,700 children in Gaza now suffer from acute malnutrition.
Amid these developments, global outrage continues to mount. UNICEF spokesperson James Elder, speaking from Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, pointed to the psychological trauma experienced by children in Gaza and recounted the story of Jina, an 11-year-old girl left paralyzed from the waist down after an Israeli airstrike. 'She is now in a state of deep despair and just wants to get out of here, but she cannot get medical evacuation,' Elder said.
He warned that 50,000 children have been killed or injured in Gaza, equating the toll to 2,000 classrooms. 'This tragedy must end,' he added.
In France, Jacqueline Rivault filed a legal complaint in Paris accusing Israel of genocide and murder after her two French grandchildren, Janna (6) and Abderrahim (9), were reportedly killed in an Israeli airstrike on October 24, 2023.
The complaint alleges that two F-16 missiles directly struck the room where the family had taken shelter. Abderrahim died instantly, while Janna succumbed to her wounds shortly after.
