DEIR BALAH, Gaza (AP) — At least 70 people were killed in Gaza in one of the deadliest attacks of the war, health officials said Sunday, while the number of Israeli soldiers killed in fighting over the weekend rose to 15.
Associated Press journalists at a nearby hospital saw terrified Palestinians carrying the dead, including an infant, and the wounded following the raid on the Maghazi refugee camp east of Deir al-Balah. A bloodied little girl looked stunned as her body was examined to make sure there were no broken bones.
Ashraf Al-Qudra, spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Gaza, said that the toll is likely to rise. The Israeli army had no immediate comment.
“We have all been targeted,” said Ahmed Turkmani, who lost several family members including his daughter and grandson. “There is no safe place in Gaza anyway.”
As Christmas Eve arrived, smoke rose over the besieged territories, while he was in the West Bank Bethlehem fell silentHer Eid celebrations were cancelled. In neighboring Egypt, tentative efforts continued to reach an agreement for another hostage exchange with Palestinians held by Israel.
The war has destroyed and killed parts of Gaza About 20,400 Palestinians It caused the displacement of almost all of the region's population of 2.3 million people.
The high death toll among Israeli forces – 154 since the start of the ground offensive – may erode popular support for the war, which erupted when militants led by Hamas… Storming residential communities in southern Israel On October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 hostage.
The Israelis still largely stand behind The declared goals of the country Crushing Hamas's ruling and military capabilities and releasing the remaining 129 prisoners. This is despite the increasing international pressure against the Israeli attack, the high death toll and the unprecedented suffering among the Palestinians.
Hamas imposes a high price
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “The war imposes a very heavy price on us, but we have no choice but to continue fighting.”
In a nationally televised speech, Israeli President Isaac Herzog called on the country to remain united. “This moment is a test. We will not break and we will not blink.”
There was widespread anger against his government, which many criticized for failing to protect civilians on October 7 Promoting policies that allowed Hamas to gain power Over the years. Netanyahu has avoided accepting responsibility Because of military and political failure.
“Over time, the public will find it difficult to ignore the high price that has been paid, as well as the suspicion that the goals so loudly declared remain far from being achieved, and that Hamas shows no signs of surrendering in the near future.” Amos Harel wrote, Military affairs commentator for Haaretz newspaper.
The Israeli military said it had completed the dismantling of Hamas's underground command headquarters in northern Gaza, as part of an operation to destroy the vast tunnel network and kill senior leaders, a process Israeli leaders said could take months.
Efforts towards negotiations continued. Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Ziad al-Nakhalah arrived in Egypt for talks. The armed group, which was also involved in the October 7 attack, said it was prepared to consider releasing the hostages only after the fighting ended. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh traveled to Cairo for talks a few days ago.
Inside Gaza
The Israeli attack was one of these attacks The most destructive military campaigns in modern history. More than two-thirds of the 20,000 Palestinian dead were women and children, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said a 13-year-old boy was shot dead in an Israeli drone attack while inside Al Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis, a part of Gaza where the Israeli military believes Hamas leaders are hiding.
An Israeli raid overnight hit a house in a refugee camp west of the city of Rafah on the Gaza Strip border with Egypt. At least two men were killed, according to Associated Press journalists at the hospital where the bodies were taken.
At least two people were killed and six others were injured when a missile hit a building in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
Palestinians reported heavy Israeli bombing and gunfire in Jabalia, an area north of Gaza City that Israel claims to control. The military arm of Hamas said that its fighters bombed Israeli forces in Jabalia and the Jabalia refugee camp.
Israel faces international criticism over the number of civilian deaths but blames Hamas, citing activists' use of crowded residential areas and tunnels. Israel has launched thousands of air strikes since October 7. It says it killed thousands of Hamas activists, without providing evidence.
Israel also faces allegations of mistreatment of Palestinian men and teenagers detained in homes, shelters, hospitals and other places during the offensive. It denied allegations of abuse and said those with no links to militants would be released quickly.
Speaking to the AP from a hospital bed in Rafah after his release, Khamis al-Bardini from Gaza City said Israeli forces arrested him after tanks and bulldozers partially destroyed his home. He added that the men were handcuffed and blindfolded.
“We did not sleep. We did not get food and water,” he said, crying and covering his face.
Another detainee who was released, Muhammad Salem, from the Shujaiya neighborhood in Gaza City, said that Israeli forces beat them. “We were insulted,” he added. “A female soldier would come and beat an old man, 72 years old.”
International pressure
It has passed the United Nations Security Council Diluted decision It calls for the rapid delivery of humanitarian aid to hungry and desperate Palestinians and the release of all hostages, but not for a ceasefire.
But it was not immediately clear how and when deliveries of food, medical supplies and other aid, well below the daily average of 500 before the war, would accelerate. Trucks enter through two crossings: Rafah and Kerem Shalom on the border with Israel. Wael Abu Omar, spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority, said that 123 aid trucks entered Gaza on Sunday.
The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, repeated UN calls for a humanitarian ceasefire, adding on social media that “the destruction of the health system in Gaza is a tragedy.”
Amid concerns about a broader regional conflict, US Central Command said a patrol ship in the Red Sea on Saturday shot down four drones launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, while two Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles were fired at international shipping lanes. .
The Iran-backed Houthis say their attacks target ships linked to Israel in an attempt to stop the Israeli attack on Gaza.
___
Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Jack Jeffrey in London contributed to this report.
___
Find more AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
“Internet practitioner. Social media maven. Certified zombieaholic. Lifelong communicator.”