UPDATE - Israeli airstrikes kill 17 Palestinians in Gaza, including 2 children

UPDATES DEATH TOLL; REVISES DECK

By Ikram Kouachi

At least 17 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip early Saturday, according to medical sources.

A medical source told Anadolu that two children were killed when Israeli warplanes bombed the Al-Mu’tasim School, which was sheltering displaced families near Yarmouk Stadium in Gaza City.

Another Palestinian woman was killed in an Israeli strike targeting a civilian gathering near the Jordanian Hospital in Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood, while a man was killed and other people wounded after Israeli forces opened fire on people waiting for aid in central Gaza, Al-Awda Hospital reported.

Four others from the Jumla family lost their lives at dawn when Israeli warplanes struck their home in Gaza City’s Al-Tuffah neighborhood.

Meanwhile, one Palestinian was killed and others were injured when Israeli forces hit a civilian gathering in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said 14 civilians were injured when Israeli forces targeted the vicinity of Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City’s Tel al-Hawa neighborhood.

Local health authorities confirmed that Israeli attacks since dawn Saturday have killed 17 people, including 14 in Gaza City alone.

The Israeli army also announced the closure of Salah al-Din Street, the main north-south artery in the Gaza Strip, to forcibly displaced civilians, leaving only the coastal Rashid Street open amid continued bombardments of Gaza City and the northern areas.

Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has been carrying out a genocide in Gaza which has so far killed nearly 65,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

The onslaught has displaced hundreds of thousands alongside a blockade on humanitarian aid that has claimed the lives of at least 440 Palestinians, including 147 children.