DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip Dec 11: Israeli strikes pounded the Gaza Strip overnight and into Wednesday, hitting a home where displaced people were sheltering in the isolated north and a built-up refugee camp. At least 29 people were killed, according to Palestinian health officials.
The Israel-Hamas war has raged on with no end in sight, even after Israel reached a ceasefire with Lebanon’s Hezbollah and attention shifted to the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Both the outgoing and incoming U.S. administrations have said they hope to end the war before the inauguration but months of ceasefire talks have repeatedly stalled.
The strike on the home killed 19 people in the northern town of Beit Lahiya near the border with Israel, according to the nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital, which received the bodies. Hospital records show that a family of eight was among those killed, including four children, their parents and two grandparents.
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The hospital said another strike near its entrance on Wednesday killed a woman and her two children.
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the hospital director, said Israeli drones struck nearby residential blocks overnight, causing explosions that sparked panic among the more than 120 sick and wounded patients inside the facility.
“We have received distress calls from neighbors and trapped people, but we’re not able to leave the hospital because of the continued risk,” he said. “We are witnessing a massive loss of life, with many martyrs in the targeted areas.”
Another strike in the decades-old Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza killed at least seven people, according to the Awda Hospital. The dead included two children, their parents and three relatives, it said.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. The military says it tries to avoid harming civilians and accuses militants of hiding among them, putting their lives in danger.
