ISLAMABAD: Israeli forces killed more than 50 Palestinians, including at least seven children, in Gaza City overnight. Strikes hit densely populated neighbourhoods and destroyed the Mushtaha Tower, a 12-storey building surrounded by makeshift tents.
Al Jazeera English, the Qatar-based global news network, reported that the Israeli army has ordered fresh evacuations to al-Mawasi in Khan Younis, designating it a new “humanitarian zone”. But the overcrowded encampment has been repeatedly bombed, with civilians sheltering there among the casualties.
‘Walking on ruins and bodies’
Residents returning to Zeitoun described entire districts reduced to rubble, the News network said.
“What we have built in 50 years was flattened in five days,” one resident told Al Jazeera. Others said they are now “walking on ruins and the bodies of loved ones.”
Since the war began in October 2023, at least 64,300 Palestinians have been killed and more than 162,000 wounded. Thousands remain trapped under collapsed buildings. Aid groups say the actual figure is likely higher, as thousands remain trapped under rubble. A Turkish news outlet Anadolu Agency noted that children account for nearly one-third of all fatalities. A peer-reviewed study in The Lancet, widely cited by international media, suggested overall deaths could exceed 70,000 when factoring in disease, starvation, and lack of medical care.
Israel continues to defend its operations, while critics say its campaign amounts to collective punishment.
The devastation entered a relentless new phase following the Israeli invasion triggered by Hamas’s attacks on October 7, 2023, which resulted in around 1,200 Israeli deaths and 251 hostages taken. In response, Israel launched the major air and ground operations across the Gaza Strip, escalating the conflict into one of the deadliest chapters in the region’s history.
Women, Children & Civilians
More than one million Palestinians have been repeatedly displaced as Israeli forces pushed deeper into Gaza City. Reuters reported that Israel now claims control of up to 40 percent of the city. Residents returning to the Zeitoun neighbourhood told Al Jazeera that “entire communities were flattened,” describing streets filled with rubble and the bodies of loved ones.
Humanitarian organisations stress that civilians, particularly women and children, remain the overwhelming victims of the war. A Guardian investigation highlighted cases where children were killed fetching water in areas Israel had previously designated as “safe zones.” Analysts at the European Council on Foreign Relations, quoted by Al Jazeera English, argued that Israel’s campaign reflects “maximal collective punishment” rather than a targeted military operation.
