Latest news with #Zaheral-Wahidi
CBS News
04-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Israeli strike on Gaza school allegedly kills 31 Palestinians, many kids, but IDF says it hit Hamas
Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip — Israeli airstrikes killed at least 100 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, including 31 or more who were sheltering at a school, according to medics in the Hamas-ruled enclave, in a stepped-up offensive that Israel's military says is intended to pressure Hamas to free hostages and eventually expel the militant group. The bodies of 14 children and five women were recovered from the school in the Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City, and the death toll could rise because some of the 70 wounded sustained critical injuries, said Health Ministry spokesman Zaher al-Wahidi. The Civil Defense rescue agency in Gaza said Friday that at least 31 people were killed in the strike on the school, with around 100 others injured. More than 30 other Gaza residents were killed in strikes on homes in the nearby neighborhood of Shijaiyah, al-Wahidi said, citing records at Ahli Hospital. The Israeli military said it struck a "Hamas command and control center" in the Gaza City area, and that it took steps to lessen harm to civilians. Israel gave the same reason — striking Hamas militants in a "command and control center" — for attacking a United Nations building used as a shelter a day earlier, killing at least 17 people. Hamas, which had long been designated a terrorist organization by Israel and the U.S. even before it carried out the brutal Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza , called the strike on the school a "heinous massacre" of innocent civilians. Israel has long accused Hamas of hiding weapons and fighters in and around civilian infrastructure, but the Israel Defense Forces provided no immediate evidence to back up its claim that Hamas commanders were present in the Gaza school or the U.N. building it bombed this week. The strikes came as Israel's military ordered more residents in parts of northern Gaza to evacuate west and south to shelters, warning that it planned to "work with extreme force in your area." A number of the Palestinians fleeing the targeted areas did so on foot, with some carrying their belongings on their backs and others using donkey carts. "My wife and I have been walking for three hours covering only one kilometer," said Mohammad Ermana, 72. The couple, clasping hands, each walked with a cane. "I'm searching for shelters every hour now, not every day," he said. Israel has issued sweeping evacuation orders for parts of northern Gaza ahead of expected expansions in its ground operations. The U.N. humanitarian office said around 280,000 Palestinians have been displaced since Israel abruptly ended a ceasefire with Hamas last month that had been brokered by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar. The fresh evacuation orders came a day after senior government officials said Israel would seize large parts of the Palestinian territory and establish a new security corridor across it. Israel has imposed a monthlong blockade on food, fuel and humanitarian aid on Gaza that has left civilians facing acute shortages as supplies dwindle — a tactic that rights groups say is a war crime. Israel says it is intended to pressure Hamas to release hostages and disarm. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining 59 hostages — 24 of whom are believed to be alive — in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. The group has rejected demands that it lay down its arms or leave the territory. Overnight strikes by Israel killed at least 55 people in the Gaza Strip, hospital officials said Thursday. In the southern city of Khan Younis, officials said the bodies of 14 people had been taken to Nasser Hospital – nine of them from the same family. The dead included five children and four women. The bodies of another 19 people, including five children aged between 1 and 7 years and a pregnant woman, were taken to the European hospital near Khan Younis, hospital officials said. In Gaza City, 21 bodies were taken to Ahli hospital, including those of seven children. Later in the day, strikes killed four more people in Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital, and another two people were killed in central Gaza and taken to Al Aqsa Hospital. The attacks came as the Israeli military promised an independent investigation of a March 23 operation in which its forces opened fire on ambulances in southern Gaza . U.N. officials say 15 Palestinian medics and emergency responders were killed, and their bodies and ambulances were buried by Israeli soldiers in a mass grave. The military initially said the ambulances were operating suspiciously and that nine militants were killed. The military said the probe would be led by an expert fact-finding body "responsible for examining exceptional incidents" during the war. Rights groups say such Israeli investigations are often lacking and that soldiers are rarely punished. The head of the Palestine Red Crescent Society, Younes Al-Khatib, said Thursday he believed some of the medics were still alive when they were overtaken by Israeli forces. The organization's radio dispatchers heard a conversation in Hebrew between medics and Israeli soldiers after the ambulances had come under fire, Al-Khatib told members of the U.N. Security Council. Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador, told the U.N. Security Council he was turning over a video he obtained, allegedly showing the moments leading up to the Israeli killing of 15 humanitarian workers in Gaza. Mansour said the video shows that the aid workers, including eight members of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, were traveling in emergency vehicles with the lights on at night to deconflict with Israeli Defense Forces. But, Mansour said, the video "found on the body of one of the martyrs," shows that the Israeli army ambushed the vehicle despite the emergency lights. Israel's war in Gaza has killed more than 50,400 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry, which doesn't say whether those killed are civilians or combatants but says more than half of those killed were women and children. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence. The war has left most of Gaza in ruins and at its height displaced around 90% of the population. The war began when Israel retaliated immediately for the Hamas-led terrorist attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw 251 others taken as hostages back into Gaza, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements and other deals. Israel rescued eight living hostages and has recovered dozens of bodies.
Express Tribune
04-04-2025
- Health
- Express Tribune
Israel's strike kills mostly children as 27 die in Gaza school
A Palestinian child is carried by rescue workers after Israel attacked the Dar al-Arqam school-turned-shelter for displaced people in Gaza City on Thursday [Ayman Alhesi/Anadolu] Listen to article Israeli airstrikes killed at least 112 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, including 27 (mostly children) at a school in Gaza City, according to local health officials. The strikes marked one of the deadliest days in Israel's renewed offensive, which resumed after a collapsed ceasefire in mid-March. In the Tuffah neighbourhood, an Israeli bomb struck Dar al-Arqam School, where dozens of displaced families had sought refuge. Health Ministry spokesman Zaher al-Wahidi said at least 14 children and five women were among the dead, and over 70 others were wounded—many critically. The Israeli military said the strike targeted a Hamas command centre and claimed it had taken measures to reduce civilian casualties. Hamas condemned the strike as a 'heinous massacre' and accused Israel of deliberately targeting shelters. Nearby in Shijaiyah, more than 30 Palestinians were killed in separate strikes on residential buildings, al-Wahidi added. Israel has also ordered new evacuations from parts of northern Gaza. Thousands of civilians, many on foot or using carts, fled their homes under threat of further attacks. 'We've been walking for hours just to find a shelter,' said 72-year-old Mohammad Ermana, moving with his wife as the couple clung to canes. Overnight raids in the south killed at least 55 people in Khan Younis, including entire families. Hospitals reported five children and four women among the dead at Nasser Hospital, and another pregnant woman among the victims at the European Hospital nearby. In a separate case under scrutiny, Israel pledged to investigate a March 23 incident in which its forces allegedly killed 15 medics and buried them and their ambulances in a mass grave. UN and Palestinian officials claim the medics were ambushed while trying to reach injured civilians. Palestinian ambassador Riyad Mansour told the UN Security Council he has video evidence showing emergency lights were on when Israeli forces struck. Gaza's Health Ministry says over 50,000 Palestinians have died since the war began, with more than half of the casualties being women and children. Israel says it has killed 20,000 militants, but has not provided independent evidence to support the claim. The UN estimates that around 280,000 people have been forcibly displaced since Israel resumed operations. Much of Gaza now lies in ruins, and nearly 90% of the population has been uprooted since October.
Nahar Net
04-04-2025
- Health
- Nahar Net
Israeli strike on Gaza school kills at least 27 people
by Naharnet Newsdesk 04 April 2025, 11:21 Israeli airstrikes killed at least 100 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, including 27 or more sheltering at a school, according to Palestinian medical authorities, in a stepped-up offensive that Israel's military said is intended to pressure Hamas and eventually expel the militant group. The bodies of 14 children and five women were recovered from the school in the Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City and the death toll could rise because some of the 70 wounded sustained critical injuries, said Health Ministry spokesman Zaher al-Wahidi. More than 30 other Gaza residents were killed in strikes on homes in the nearby neighborhood of Shijaiyah, he said, citing records at Ahli Hospital. The Israeli military said it struck a "Hamas command and control center" in the Gaza City area, and said it took steps to lessen harm to civilians. Israel gave the same reason — striking Hamas militants in a "command and control center" — for attacking a United Nations building used as a shelter a day earlier, killing at least 17 people. Hamas called the strike on the school a " heinous massacre" of innocent civilians. The strikes came as Israel's military ordered more residents in parts of northern Gaza to move west and south to shelters, warning that it planned to "work with extreme force in your area." A number of the Palestinians leaving the targeted areas did so on foot, with some carrying their belongings on their backs and others using donkey carts. "My wife and I have been walking for three hours covering only one kilometer," said Mohammad Ermana, 72. The couple, clasping hands, each walked with a cane. "I'm searching for shelters every hour now, not every day," he said. Israel has issued sweeping evacuation orders for parts of northern Gaza ahead of expected ground operations. The U.N. humanitarian office said around 280,000 Palestinians have been displaced since Israel ended the ceasefire with Hamas last month. The fresh evacuation orders came a day after senior government officials said Israel would seize large parts of the Palestinian territory and establish a new security corridor across it. To pressure Hamas, Israel has imposed a monthlong blockade on food, fuel and humanitarian aid that has left civilians facing acute shortages as supplies dwindle — a tactic that rights groups say is a war crime. Hamas says it will only release the remaining 59 hostages — 24 of whom are believed to be alive — in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli pullout from Gaza. The group has rejected demands that it lay down its arms or leave the territory. Another deadly day in Gaza Overnight strikes by Israel killed at least 55 people in the Gaza Strip, hospital officials said Thursday. In the southern city of Khan Younis, officials said the bodies of 14 people had been taken to Nasser Hospital – nine of them from the same family. The dead included five children and four women. The bodies of another 19 people, including five children aged between 1 and 7 years and a pregnant woman, were taken to the European hospital near Khan Younis, hospital officials said. In Gaza City, 21 bodies were taken to Ahli hospital, including those of seven children. Later in the day, strikes killed four more people in Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital, and another two people were killed in central Gaza and taken to Al Aqsa Hospital. The attacks came as the Israeli military promised an independent investigation of a March 23 operation in which its forces opened fire on ambulances in southern Gaza. U.N. officials say 15 Palestinian medics and emergency responders were killed, and their bodies and ambulances were buried by Israeli soldiers in a mass grave. The military initially said the ambulances were operating suspiciously and that nine militants were killed. The military said the probe would be led by an expert fact-finding body "responsible for examining exceptional incidents" during the war. Rights groups say such investigations are often lacking and that soldiers are rarely punished. The head of the Palestine Red Crescent Society, Younes Al-Khatib, said Thursday he believed some of the medics were still alive when they were overtaken by Israeli forces. The organization's radio dispatchers heard a conversation in Hebrew between medics and Israeli soldiers after the ambulances had come under fire, Al-Khatib told members of the U.N. Security Council. Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador, told the U.N. Security Council he was turning over a video he obtained, allegedly showing the moments leading up to the Israeli killing of 15 humanitarian workers in Gaza. Mansour said the video shows that the aid workers, including eight members of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, were traveling in emergency vehicles with the lights on at night to deconflict with Israeli Defense Forces. But, Mansour said, the video "found on the body of one of the martyrs," shows that the Israeli army ambushed the vehicle despite the emergency lights. Israeli war plans for Gaza On Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Israel was establishing a security corridor across Gaza to pressure Hamas, suggesting it would cut off the southern city of Rafah, which Israel has ordered evacuated, from the rest of the Palestinian territory. Israel has also reasserted control over the Netzarim corridor, a military zone that separates the northern third of Gaza from the rest of the narrow strip. Both that and another corridor, along Gaza's southern border with Egypt, run from the Israeli border to the Mediterranean Sea. Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel plans to maintain overall security control of Gaza after the war and implement U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to resettle much of its population elsewhere through what the Israeli leader referred to as "voluntary emigration." Palestinians view the proposal as expulsion from their homeland, and human rights experts say the plan would likely violate international law. Israel's war in Gaza has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't say whether those killed are civilians or combatants but says more than half of those killed were women and children. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence. The war has left most of Gaza in ruins and at its height displaced around 90% of the population. The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements and other deals. Israel rescued eight living hostages and has recovered dozens of bodies. Netanyahu visits Hungary despite arrest warrant Netanyahu arrived in Hungary early Thursday on his second foreign trip since the world's top war crimes court issued an arrest warrant against him in November over Israel's war in Gaza. Based in The Hague, Netherlands, the International Criminal Court has said there was reason to believe Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant used "starvation as a method of warfare" by restricting humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, and intentionally targeted civilians in Israel's campaign against Hamas — charges that Israeli officials deny. ICC member countries, such as Hungary, are required to arrest suspects facing a warrant if they set foot on their soil, but the court has no way to enforce that and relies on states to comply. As Netanyahu arrived in Budapest, Hungary said it will begin the procedure of withdrawing from the ICC. Israeli strike reported in Lebanon At least two people were killed early Friday in an apparent Israeli airstrike that hit an apartment in a multistory building in the coastal city of Sidon in Lebanon. An Associated Press photographer at the scene saw two bodies being carried out of the building by emergency responders. There was no immediate statement from the Israeli military. It was the first time an airstrike had hit Lebanon's third largest city since a tenuous ceasefire agreement brought an end to the latest Israel-Hezbollah war in late November. Israel has continued to carry out regular airstrikes targeting what it has said are facilities and officials of Hezbollah and allied groups since the ceasefire.
The Independent
04-04-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Israeli bombing of Gaza school housing displaced Palestinians kills at least 27, say medical officials
At least 27 Palestinians were killed when the Israeli military struck a school in northern Gaza on Thursday, according to the Strip's Hamas-run health ministry, marking another day of over 100 casualties in the besieged territory. The death toll was expected to rise as some of the 70 wounded had sustained critical injuries and were receiving treatment in local hospitals already overwhelmed with the influx of casualties, officials said. The strike targeted the Dar al-Arqam school in the Tuffah area of Gaza City which had been turned into a shelter for people displaced by Israel's 18-month war on Gaza. Health ministry spokesperson Zaher al-Wahidi said the bodies of 14 children and five women had been recovered from the rubble. Graphic videos from Al-Ahli Arab Hospital showed injured children crying as they were rushed in cars and trucks, some with serious injuries. Hamas denounced the school strike as a "heinous massacre" of innocent civilians and a 'new brutal crime'. The Israeli military claimed it had struck a "Hamas command and control centre" in Gaza City. It said steps had been taken before the strike to mitigate harm to civilians. Israel had offered the same reason – striking a Hamas "command and control centre" – for bombing a United Nations building used as a shelter a day earlier, which health officials said killed at least 17 people. Mahmoud Bassal of Gaza's Civil Defence Agency said women and children accounted for the majority of the casualties from the strike on the Dar al-Arqam school. He said a woman heavily pregnant with twins was missing, along with her husband and other family members. Another 97 people were killed over the past 24 hours as Israeli forces bombed homes and shelters in the Palestinian territory, according to health officials. Stepping up its offensive, the Israeli military ordered more residents in northern Gaza to move west and south to shelters, warning that it planned to "work with extreme force in your area'. A number of Palestinians leaving the targeted areas did so on foot, with some carrying their belongings on their backs and others using donkey carts. Mohammad Ermana, 72, and his wife said they had been looking for shelters 'every hour now, not every day'. "My wife and I have been walking for three hours covering only one kilometre," he said as he walked with his wife's hand in his, each walking with a cane. In the southern city of Khan Younis, at least 14 people, including five children and four women, were killed and their bodies were taken to the Nasser Hospital. The bodies of another 19 people, including five children aged between 1 and 7 years and a pregnant woman, were moved to the European hospital near Khan Younis, officials said. In Gaza City, 21 bodies were taken to Al-Ahli hospital, including those of seven children. Later in the day, Israeli strikes killed four more people in Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital, and another two people in central Gaza. The death toll in Gaza continued to rise even as the Israeli military promised an independent investigation into its 23 March killing of 15 Palestinian medics and emergency responders. UN officials said Israeli soldiers had buried the medics and their ambulances in a mass grave. Israel initially claimed its soldiers had targeted the ambulances because they were 'suspicious vehicles' and killed nine militants in the process. The military said the investigation would be led by an expert fact-finding body "responsible for examining exceptional incidents" during the war. Rights groups said such investigations were often found lacking and that troops were rarely punished. The head of the Palestine Red Crescent Society, Younes Al-Khatib, said on Thursday he believed some of the medics were still alive when they were captured by Israeli forces. The society's radio dispatchers heard a conversation in Hebrew between medics and Israeli soldiers after the ambulances had come under fire, Al-Khatib told members of the UN Security Council. Israel's war on Gaza has killed over 50,000 Palestinians, including hundreds since a ceasefire ended last month. The war began after nearly 1,200 people were killed, most of them civilians, and 251 taken hostage during a Hamas attack on southern Israel in October 2023. The UN humanitarian office said about 280,000 Palestinians had been displaced since Israel ended the ceasefire with Hamas last month. After ending the ceasefire, Israel imposed a blockade on food, fuel and critical humanitarian aid entering Gaza, leaving civilians facing acute shortages – a tactic that rights groups say is a war crime. Hamas says it will only release the remaining 59 hostages – 24 of whom are believed to be alive – in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli military pullout from Gaza. It has rejected demands to lay down its arms or leave the territory. An investigation by The Independent found evidence of abuse, torture and deaths of Palestinian detainees, including some of Gaza's most renowned medics, in Israel's jails.
Saudi Gazette
04-04-2025
- Health
- Saudi Gazette
At least 100 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza
GAZA — At least 100 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza on Thursday, including 27, or more sheltering at a school in the north of the strip, according to Palestinian medical authorities. The attacks come as Israel heightens its offensive in what it said is a campaign intended to ramp up pressure on Hamas and eventually expel the Gaza-based group. The bodies of 14 children and five women were recovered from the school in the Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City. The death toll may continue to rise as some of the 70 wounded sustained critical injuries, according to the spokesperson of the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, Zaher al-Wahidi. Al-Wahidi says more than 30 other Gaza residents were killed in strikes on homes in the nearby neighborhood of Shijaiyah, citing records at al-Ahli Hospital. Israel's military says it struck a 'Hamas command and control centre' in the Gaza City area, adding that it took steps to minimise civilian casualties. The same reason was also used – striking Hamas militants in a 'command and control centre' – for attacking a United Nations building used as a shelter a day earlier, killing at least 17 people. Hamas condemned the strike on the school calling it a 'heinous massacre' of innocent civilians. The IDF says it has struck over 600 targets in Gaza and killed over 250 Hamas operatives, including 12 senior officials in Hamas' military wing and politburo, since it resumed fighting on 18 March. Israel issued evacuation orders to residents in parts of northern Gaza, instructing civilians to move west and south to shelters, warning that it planned to 'work with extreme force in your area'. Many Palestinians abiding by the forced evacuation notices did so on foot, with some carrying their belongings on their backs and others using donkey carts. 'My wife and I have been walking for three hours covering only one kilometre,' said Mohammad Ermana, 72. The couple, clasping hands, each walked with a cane. 'I'm searching for shelters every hour now, not every day,' he said. Israel has issued sweeping evacuation orders for parts of northern Gaza ahead of expected ground operations. The UN humanitarian office said around 280,000 Palestinians have been displaced since Israel ended the ceasefire with Hamas last month. The fresh evacuation orders came a day after senior government officials said Israel said it would seize large parts of the Palestinian territory and establish a new security corridor across it. To pressure Hamas, Israel has imposed a month-long blockade on food, fuel and humanitarian aid that has left civilians facing acute shortages as supplies dwindle — a tactic rights groups say is a war crime. Overnight strikes by Israel killed at least 55 people in the Gaza Strip, hospital officials said Thursday. In the south in Khan Younis, officials said the bodies of 14 people were taken to Nasser Hospital, of which nine were from the same family. The dead included five children and four women. The bodies of another 19 people, including five children aged between one and seven, and a pregnant woman were taken to the European Hospital near Khan Younis, according to hospital officials. The attacks came as the Israeli military promised an independent investigation of a March 23 operation in which its forces opened fire on ambulances in southern Gaza. UN officials say 15 Palestinian medics and emergency responders were killed, and their bodies and ambulances were buried by Israeli soldiers in a mass grave. The Israeli military initially said the ambulances were operating suspiciously and that nine militants were killed. It added that the probe would be led by an expert fact-finding body 'responsible for examining exceptional incidents' during the war. UN human rights chief Volker Türk, citing the ambulance attack, warned on Thursday that there is 'a high and increasing risk' Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza. More than 50,000 people were killed in over 15 months of fighting, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which makes no distinction between civilian and combatant casualties. On 7 October, 2023, Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 others as hostages. Israel responded by waging a war on Hamas, vowing to destroy the group to ensure no such attack can be repeated in the future. — Euronews
