Israeli strike on central Gaza apartment kills parents and child
Palestinian officials said one child survived the Deir el-Balah attack, which Israel said targeted a Hamas fighter.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
3 min read
An Israeli air attack on an apartment in central Gaza killed a couple and their six-year-old daughter on Wednesday, according to Palestinian health officials cited by Al Jazeera. The strike in Deir el-Balah underscored the continuing toll of Israeli attacks despite a United States-brokered ceasefire with Hamas, Al Jazeera reported.
Palestinian health officials said another child from the family survived and was pulled from the site after Palestinian Civil Defence crews arrived to put out a fire caused by the strike, according to Al Jazeera. A Reuters photograph from Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital identified the dead as Omar Abu Qassem, his wife Asma and their daughter Habeeba.
Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from Gaza City, said children in Gaza are being killed every day and that many who survive strikes later die because hospitals lack supplies and are working with sharply limited capacity.
The Israeli military later acknowledged carrying out an attack in Deir el-Balah and said it had aimed at a Hamas fighter, Al Jazeera reported. The report did not include further details from the Israeli army on the target or the circumstances of the strike.
Al Jazeera also reported Israeli air attacks elsewhere in Gaza on Wednesday, including strikes on a rehabilitation centre in Gaza City and on a park in Khan Younis in southern Gaza. The park had been used as shelter by hundreds of displaced families, according to the network.
In its daily update, Gaza’s Ministry of Health said at least 12 bodies were taken to hospitals over the latest 24-hour reporting period, while one person died from previous wounds and 18 others were injured in Israeli attacks, according to Al Jazeera.
The latest deaths came during a ceasefire agreed in October between Israel and Hamas with US mediation, Al Jazeera reported. The network said most ground combat has eased since then, but Israeli air attacks have killed more than 1,100 people, including at least 275 children. Four Israeli soldiers have also been killed during the same period, according to Al Jazeera.
The United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency has said 96 percent of children in Gaza feel death is imminent, according to Al Jazeera. The figure reflects the psychological strain on children after years of war, bombardment and displacement.
The war began after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and roughly 240 were taken captive, Al Jazeera reported. Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 73,200 people, including at least 21,000 children, according to the network.
Al Jazeera reported that Israel has dropped about 223,000 tonnes of explosives on Gaza during the war, leaving much of the territory damaged and most residents displaced. Talks on a second phase of the ceasefire, including Hamas giving up its weapons and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, have largely stalled, according to the network.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.