Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip has resulted in the deaths of at least 15 individuals, most of them women and children, in a fresh outbreak of violence that has heightened the existing humanitarian crisis in the blockaded territory. Local health authorities and several news outlets reported overnight and into Monday morning that residential neighborhoods and shelters throughout Gaza were targeted.
One of the bloodiest attacks happened when an Israeli bombardment on a school used as a shelter killed at least 16 civilians, the majority women and children. The school had been a refuge for those families who were forced out of their homes due to the intense combat, again emphasizing the civilians' vulnerability even in so-called safe areas. In another raid, Israeli planes bombed tents where displaced families were taking refuge in Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah, killing several children and their parents. Local hospitals such as Nasser Hospital reported that they received bodies of young children and their parents, with several others injured in the raids.
The Israeli army insists that its attacks target only militants and that it tries to minimize civilian casualties, attributing the presence of Hamas fighters among populated zones to the Palestinians. The rising number of civilian casualties, especially women and children, has elicited strong condemnation from local authorities and humanitarian agencies. Gaza's Health Ministry says that more than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war started in October 2023, most of them women and children. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has also reported hundreds of incidents affecting its shelters, schools, and medical centers, causing hundreds of fatalities and thousands of injuries to people in refuge.
The attacks are during a severe Israeli blockade that has severed the flow of food, medicine, and other basic commodities into Gaza for more than ten weeks. Humanitarian groups say hunger is rampant and medical supplies have reached critically low levels, worsening the plight of civilians, including cancer and diabetes patients who cannot receive necessary treatment. The blockade, which Israel terms as a strategy to coerce Hamas to release hostages, has deteriorated the humanitarian crisis and displaced almost 90% of Gaza's 2 million inhabitants.
International response has been varied, with some governments coming out in support of Israel's right to defend itself, while others and many humanitarian agencies have demanded an immediate ceasefire and better protection for civilians. The war, which started after Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel in October 2023, has now reached its nineteenth month, with no end in sight and the civilian population of Gaza suffering the most.
Overall, the recent Israeli bombardments again highlighted the cataclysmic effects of the conflict on civilians, especially children and women, of Gaza as well as aggravation of the crisis by continued blockade and humanitarian closure.
