At least 22 people, including women and children, were killed in Israeli airstrikes that devastated a residential section of the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, Palestinian medical authorities reported on Saturday.
This area has been a focal point of intense fighting since the Israeli military’s ground incursion began last week.
One of the airstrikes late Friday night completely obliterated a building, resulting in at least 20 fatalities, with several other buildings sustaining significant damage.
The Palestinian Health Ministry’s Ambulance and Emergency service confirmed the death toll from the strike in the heart of Jabaliya. In a separate incident within the camp, a mother, father, and their baby were struck by another airstrike.
The parents died, while their baby was injured, according to medical officials.
Responders arriving on the scene before the strikes had concluded found a massive 20-meter (65-foot) crater carved into the ground. As of Saturday morning, more than 20 bodies were recovered from the rubble, but several more remained unaccounted for, emergency services added. The casualties included six women and seven children.
Gaza’s Health Ministry announced that over the past 24 hours, hospitals in the region have received the bodies of 49 people, raising the death toll since the conflict reignited on October 7 2023 to 42,175.
In that same period, 98,339 people have been injured. The Israeli military has yet to respond to requests for comments on the latest attacks, which are part of a broader military push in northern Gaza.
Meanwhile, in a separate conflict zone, the U.S. military carried out airstrikes on Friday targeting Islamic State camps in Syria.
The strikes were intended to dismantle ISIS’s capability to plan and execute attacks, according to a statement by U.S. Central Command.
These airstrikes aim to disrupt the group’s operations in the region and beyond. No civilian casualties were reported from these actions.
In Beirut, Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf toured the site of an Israeli airstrike that killed numerous civilians, affirming Iran’s ongoing support for both Lebanon and Palestinians in their battle against Israel.
During his visit, he also met with Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who reiterated the country’s commitment to a ceasefire and adherence to a 2006 U.N. resolution aimed at stabilizing the Lebanese-Israeli border.
Qalibaf, accompanied by Hezbollah officials, pledged that Iran would continue backing Lebanon and Palestinians amid escalating tensions.
As the conflict rages on, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens. The United Nations’ World Food Program reported on Saturday that no food supplies have reached northern Gaza since October 1 due to the ongoing Israeli ground operation.
This has heightened fears of a food crisis, with WFP officials expressing growing concern over food security for Palestinian families trapped in the region.
“The north is basically cut off, and we’re not able to operate there,” Antoine Renard, WFP’s director for Palestinian territories, remarked. Although Israel has denied accusations of orchestrating a “starvation campaign” and maintains that it has allowed aid into the area, humanitarian access remains severely limited.
The European Union also voiced concern over a draft Israeli law that would bar the United Nations Relief and Works Agency from operating in Israeli territories, jeopardizing aid distribution to millions of Palestinians.
Should the bill pass, it would have significant consequences for UNRWA’s ability to provide critical services in Gaza and the West Bank, the EU warned. Israel has accused several UNRWA staff of being involved in the October 7 Hamas attack and has since dismissed over a dozen staff members following an internal investigation.
Adding to the upheaval, the Israeli military issued fresh evacuation orders on Saturday for Palestinians residing in northern Gaza, specifically those in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood and Jabaliya refugee camp. Residents were advised to flee south to Muwasi, designated as a humanitarian zone.
The military has also instructed the evacuation of hospitals, leaving the fate of patients and medical staff uncertain as airstrikes and artillery bombardment continue in the region.
