GAZA CITY: Israeli military airstrikes killed at least 32 Palestinians across Gaza overnight and into Saturday, according to local medics, with the highest number of casualties reported in northern areas of the enclave.
The Israeli military claimed targeting a Palestinian allegedly involved in Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, saying the strike was conducted on a vehicle in Gaza. The military said it is investigating reports that the individual was an employee of the World Central Kitchen (WCK), a US-based humanitarian group.
Medics confirmed that nine people were killed when an Israeli airstrike struck a vehicle near a group of Palestinians receiving aid in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.
Witnesses and a Hamas source told Reuters that the targeted vehicle belonged to security personnel coordinating aid distribution in the area.
In central Gaza City, at least seven people were killed in a strike on a residential house, according to the Gaza Civil Defence and the Palestinian news agency WAFA.
Meanwhile, the Gaza Civil Defense reported that one of its officers died in attacks in northern Gaza’s Jabalia, raising the number of civil defence workers killed since October 7 to 88.
Meanwhile, WAFA reported the deaths of three WCK employees when an Israeli strike hit a civilian vehicle in Khan Younis.
After the attacks, WCK halted its food distribution operations in Gaza. Al Jazeera reported that a civil car belonging to the World Central Kitchen was targeted by an Israeli drone on Salah al-Din Street in the eastern side of southern Gaza’s Khan Younis city.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) highlighted the growing plight of displaced families. In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), the agency shared the story of Abu Mohammed and his family, who are seeking refuge in a classroom of a UNRWA school-turned-shelter.
“The harsh winter weather increases the risk that damaged buildings — where families have sought shelter — could collapse,” the statement warned.
The Gaza Health Ministry reported that at least 44,382 people have been killed since the Israeli military operation began over a year ago, including 19 deaths in the past 24 hours. The ministry said that 105,142 persons have been injured in the ongoing Israeli strikes since October 7, 2024.
The violence has extended to vital medical infrastructure. UNICEF condemned attacks on hospitals, citing the death of a premature Palestinian infant from pneumonia after being denied neonatal intensive care.
“Attacks on hospitals are robbing vulnerable newborns of the neonatal intensive care they need. This violence must stop. Ceasefire now,” UNICEF posted on X.
Meanwhile, outgoing European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell acknowledged international criticism of the EU’s inconsistent stance on conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine. In a reflective blog post, Borrell conceded that the EU had failed to act effectively in the Middle East.
“After October 7, 2023, when Israel’s relentless offensive on Gaza began following a cross-border Hamas attack, we were unable to speak with one voice or act effectively enough to help obtain a ceasefire,” he wrote.
Borrell admitted that perceptions of EU double standards had spread widely, particularly among nations in the Global South.
