Israeli army killed 35 civilians mostly women & children on first day of Eid in Gaza
By Abdul Adil
(AA, Al Jazeera, Wafa, Muslim News):
GAZA
Since the predawn hours on Sunday, marked the first day of Eid al-Fitr, the occupation forces have killed 35 civilians, including women and children, across the Strip, according to Health Ministry in the enclave.
Gaza’s Health Ministry says at least 50,277 Palestinians are confirmed dead and 114,095 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza. Gaza’s Government Media Office updated its death toll about two months ago to more than 61,700, saying thousands of people missing under the rubble are presumed dead.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Hamas must “lay down its weapons”, exile its leaders, and turn over security in Gaza to Israel in order to reach the “final stage” of the ceasefire.
Meanwhile, Palestine Red Crescent says it has recovered 14 bodies of health workers in Rafah, after its personnel came under heavy Israeli fire last week.
It elaborated that the bodies included the bodies of eight PRCS paramedics, the bodies of five rescue team members, and the body of one United Nations staff member, all of whom went missing and whose fate was unknown after Israeli occupation forces had directly opened gunfire at them in the neighborhood.
It added that the bodies were located thanks to the joint efforts of its rescue teams together with a crew of OCHA, the Red Cross, and the Civil Defense, who made their way to the neighborhood in search of the missing crew members and continued to search for other bodies.
As part of the 14 bodies, the PRCS said that eight bodies out of nine paramedics were located eight days after contact with them was lost as a result of coming under intense gunfire while in Rafah’s al-Hashashin, noting that the ninth paramedic, identified as Assad Nasasra, was still missing and might have been detained by the occupation forces.
It said that it was difficult to retrieve their bodies since they were buried in sand and some of them had started to decompose.
The eight PRCS paramedics were identified as Mustafa Khafaja, Izziddin Shaath, Saleh Mu‘amar, Rifat Radwan, Mohammad Bahlul, Ashraf Abu Libdeh, Mohammad al-Hila and Raed ash-Sharif.
Twenty Palestinians, including 10 children, were killed and several others injured since early Sunday in Israeli airstrikes across northern and southern Gaza on the first day of Eid al-Fitr.
Witnesses told Anadolu that Israeli airstrikes targeted homes, a tent shelter, and civilian vehicles in Gaza City, Jabalia in the north, and Khan Younis in the south.
Seventeen people, including eight children, were killed when Israeli strikes hit several areas, including a family’s house in the town of Bani Suheila, east of Khan Younis, and a tent sheltering displaced families in Qizan Raswan, south of the city, according to medical sources.
Israeli tanks and artillery also pounded the eastern areas of Abasan al-Kabira, east of Khan Younis, with gunfire striking residential homes, they added.
In Gaza City, one Palestinian was killed and others were wounded when Israeli warplanes targeted three civilian vehicles in the Tuffah neighborhood, medics said.
In northern Gaza, two young girls were killed and several others injured after Israeli fighter jets bombed the Maqbel family home in the Jurn area of Jabalia, they added.
Amid relentless Israeli bombardment, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza performed Eid al-Fitr prayers over the rubble of destroyed mosques, in displacement shelters, and beside the ruins of their homes.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday did prayers for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr atop the rubble of destroyed mosques, in overcrowded shelters, and beside the ruins of their homes, as Israel’s ongoing war left no room for traditional celebrations.
Despite the destruction, displaced Palestinians gathered amid artillery shelling and heavy gunfire from Israeli forces to perform the prayers, recite takbirat (chants glorifying Allah), and exchange greetings for the Eid, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan. But the holiday’s usual festive traditions, such as sharing sweets, giving gifts to children, and celebrating in public squares, were absent.
In Gaza City, thousands prayed inside the partially destroyed Great Omari Mosque in the Old City, which has suffered Israeli bombardment during the ongoing war, which began nearly 18 months ago.
Meanwhile, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, displaced Palestinians did Eid prayers inside a makeshift shelter at a school housing families from the city’s eastern areas.
Eyewitnesses reported that prayers and takbirat were interrupted by heavy gunfire from Israeli army positions stationed east of the city.
In central Gaza, thousands gathered near the ruins of the Al-Qassam Mosque in the Nuseirat refugee camp, as well as in partially destroyed mosques across the region.
On March 19, the Israeli army said that it launched a “pinpoint” ground operation to expand a buffer zone between northern Gaza and the south.
The Israeli army launched a surprise aerial campaign on the Gaza Strip on March 18, killing over 920 people, injuring more than 2,000 others, and shattering a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold in January.
Israeli occupation forces stormed on Sunday the village of Al-Rashayda, east of Bethlehem, and raided a mosque.
Salameh Rashayda, deputy head of the Al-Rashayda village council, told WAFA correspondent that Israeli forces stormed the village, raided the courtyard of Harun Al-Rashid Mosque during the Eid al-Fitr prayers and shattered the windows and slashed the tires of several vehicles.
YEMEN
Yemen’s Houthi [Ansar Allah] group on Sunday said it engaged the US aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman and accompanying warships three times within 24 hours in the Red Sea.
In a televised statement, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said: “Our armed forces have engaged the American aircraft carrier Truman and its allied warships in the Red Sea three times in the past 24 hours.”
He said the operations involved “multiple cruise missiles and drones.”
“For the third consecutive week, our forces continue to confront the ongoing American aggression against our country,” he added, vowing continued support for Palestinians until the war ends and the blockade on Gaza is lifted.
There was no immediate reaction from US officials.
On Saturday, the Houthis’ Al-Masirah TV reported that US airstrikes targeted Yemen’s northern Saada province with seven raids.
The Israeli army on Sunday claimed that it had successfully intercepted a missile launched from Yemen before it could breach Israeli airspace.
In a statement, the army said: “The air force intercepted a missile launched from Yemen,” adding that it “was intercepted before it entered Israeli airspace.”
“Alerts were activated in line with established procedures,” it said.
Following the alerts, Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency medical service, reported that two women sustained injuries while rushing to shelters.
Separately, Yemen’s Houthi group confirmed the attack, saying that it had “successfully targeted Ben Gurion Airport in central Israel with a ballistic missile.”
LEBANON
The Israeli army fired warning shots at UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, the peacekeeping mission (UNIFIL) said Saturday.
UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said the incident occurred as peacekeepers were conducting a scheduled patrol near the town of Rmeish in southern Lebanon.
No injuries were reported.
Tenenti said an Israeli army patrol directed laser beams at UNIFIL peacekeepers in a separate incident, calling any action that endangers the safety of UN peacekeepers while performing their mandated duties “unacceptable.”
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on the report.
[Photo: Search and rescue operations are carried out after the Israeli army bombed apartment belonging to the Al Tayf family in the Shuja’iyya neighborhood on the first day of Eid al-Fitr in Gaza City, Gaza on March 30, 2025. According to the first determinations, 5 people, mostly children, lost their lives. Photojournalist: Khames Alrefi/AA]
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