An Israeli airstrike on a residential building in the Shijaiyah neighborhood of Gaza City killed at least 23 people on Wednesday, according to local health officials. The victims include eight women and eight children, as confirmed by the territory’s Health Ministry and Al-Ahly Hospital.
The four-story apartment building was leveled in the strike, with rescue teams still searching for survivors and bodies beneath the rubble. Several neighboring structures were also damaged, civil defense workers said. The Israeli military claimed responsibility for the attack, stating it was targeting a senior Hamas militant linked to recent attacks from the area, but did not provide his name or details.
The strike is part of Israel’s intensified military campaign in northern Gaza, where it has issued broad evacuation orders and tightened its blockade on food, fuel, and humanitarian aid. Supplies are rapidly dwindling, leaving civilians in increasingly dire conditions.
Efforts to deliver humanitarian aid have faced severe obstacles. The United Nations reported that Israeli forces denied access to more than two-thirds of 170 planned aid missions since the breakdown of a previous ceasefire. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric described the situation as “severely strained.”
The renewed hostilities follow the collapse of an eight-week ceasefire, which had enabled humanitarian relief and led to the release of 25 Israeli hostages and the return of the remains of eight others. Hamas, in exchange, secured the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Earlier this week, Hamas launched its most significant rocket attack since the ceasefire ended, firing ten projectiles at southern Israel. Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts to reestablish a ceasefire and negotiate a broader peace remain stalled. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted the war will not end until Hamas is completely defeated. In contrast, Hamas has stated it will not release the remaining 59 hostages — 24 of whom are believed to be alive — without a complete halt to the war.
The conflict, which began after Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people and resulted in 250 hostage takings, has since escalated into the deadliest episode in the history of Israeli-Palestinian violence. The Gaza Health Ministry says over 50,000 Palestinians have died, with more than half being women and children. The figures do not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Netanyahu, currently facing domestic and international pressure, visited Washington this week to meet with former U.S. President Donald Trump. While both expressed sympathy for hostages and war victims, there was no significant progress on halting the fighting. Trump’s postwar vision for Gaza, which includes population relocation, has drawn sharp criticism from international allies.
Sources By Agencies
