Gaza: 78 Palestinians killed, 104 injured by Israeli bombing in last 24 hours
Gaza City, (Al Jazeera, Wafa, OCHA): Between 7 March and 8 March 78 Palestinians were killed and 104 were injured by Israeli indiscriminate bombing in Gaza Strip according to Ministry of Health. At least 30,878 Palestinians have been killed and 72,402 injured since 7 October, according to MoH in Gaza. 8,500 Palestinians are missing.
The following are among the deadly incidents reported on 6 March:
o At about 15:00, seven Palestinians were reportedly killed when a bus in Az Zaitoun neighbourhood in Gaza city was hit.
o At about 15:15, five Palestinians were reportedly killed, and others injured, when a mosque in Jabalya city, North Gaza, was hit.
o At about 20:00, five Palestinians were reportedly killed, and others injured, when a house in western An Nuseirat, Deir al Balah, was hit.
o At about 21:30, at least 12 Palestinians were reportedly killed, and others injured, when a house in southern Deir al Balah was hit.
o The bodies of 29 Palestinians reportedly killed in various areas in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, were recovered.
o At about 9:40, four Palestinians were reportedly killed, and seven others injured, when a group of people on a street in Bani Suheila, in northeastern Khan Younis, was hit.
Five Palestinians were killed by airdropped aid boxes because parachutes failed to open, highlighting the problem of getting desperately needed humanitarian relief into Gaza amid Israeli restrictions.
The Israeli military carried out air raids on two homes in the city of Rafah since dawn, killing at least nine people, including children, according to Al Jazeera Arabic’s team on the ground.
More than 20 Palestinian civilians were killed this afternoon as Israeli occupation forces bombed several homes in the central and southern Gaza Strip, according to local and medical sources.
Israeli warplanes unleashed a series of airstrikes that targeted two houses in the town of Al-Qarara, located northeast of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza. The strikes resulted in the tragic killing of over 12 Palestinians, with dozens wounded and several reported missing beneath the rubble.
Additionally, eight Palestinians, mostly children, were killed, and others injured following Israeli shelling targeting the town of Zawaida in central Gaza.
Simultaneously, an Israeli airstrike targeting a house in the Tuffah neighborhood east of Gaza City claimed more lives and inflicted injuries upon others.
Meanwhile, Israeli occupation forces targeted a group of civilians in the town of Bani Suhaila east of Khan Yunis, resulting in casualties and severe injuries to several Palestinian citizens.
The Israeli forces further deployed white phosphorus bombs on the Al-Mashrou’ area in Khan Yunis. They further bombed a house belonging to the Wadi family in the western part of the city, resulting in its complete destruction.
WAFA correspondent reported that in Rafah, southern Gaza, Israeli warplanes targeted two homes belonging to the Abu Salimia family, resulting in the killing of five civilians. Additionally, 22 others, mostly women and children, were injured in the attack and were all transported to Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital in the city.
Simultaneously, the Israeli artillery fired several shells towards tents housing displaced families in the Mawasi area of Rafah city, injuring nine individuals who were then taken to the Kuwaiti Hospital for medical treatment.
In the central Gaza Strip, Israeli tanks shelled the vicinity of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, injuring seven people. The injured were immediately transported to the same hospital.
In Gaza City, Israeli warplanes bombed two houses in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, a house in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood, and another in the Al-Sabra neighborhood, leading to the murder of four Palestinians and injuring 15 others.
In Jabalia, in the northern region of the Gaza Strip, Israeli airstrikes targeted two houses in the refugee camp, resulting in the murder of one citizen and injuring three others.
The United Nations says the deadly airdrop on Gaza highlights the need for unfettered access by land routes for aid delivery.
“We’re extremely saddened by the reports of people who have been killed during airdrops… This should be a reminder of why we need an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, why we need more access by road, why we need better coordination with the Israeli authorities and better deconfliction,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said.
“[The] tragic accident is a symptom of the fact that we do not have an environment in which we can do large-scale, predictable humanitarian delivery.”
Palestinians say what they need is the US to stop giving weapons to Israel after President Joe Biden announced a plan to build a temporary pier on Gaza’s coastline to allow aid to enter. The plan has been criticised as “not realistic” and a “distraction”.
A UN expert says American plans for a temporary port and recent air drops are “absurd” and “cynical” methods so long as military aid to Israel continues.
Air drops in particular “will do very little to alleviate hunger malnutrition, and do nothing to slow down famine,” Michael Fakhri, UN special rapporteur on the right to food, told reporters in Geneva.
He warned of chaos as starving people joust for supplies. He called the port and air drops methods of “last resort”.
“The time when countries use air drops and these maritime piers is usually, if not always, in situations when you want to deliver humanitarian aid into enemy territory,” Fakhri said.
Three more children died of malnutrition and dehydration at Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital, according to the Health Ministry in the besieged enclave.
It brings the official death toll from malnutrition and dehydration in Gaza hospitals to 23.
The number only reflects the confirmed cases that have reached hospitals. The ministry previously said “dozens” more are silently dying of starvation imposed on them by the Israeli military.
According to Israeli government 1,139 Israelis were killed by Hamas on 7 October in southern Israel and 134 Israelis and foreign nationals are still detained by Hamas in Gaza.
[Photo: Wounded Palestinian child being carried to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, in Deir Al Balah, Gaza on 08 03 24.He was injured in Israeli bombing. Photojournalist: Ali Jadallah/ AA]
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