According to local health officials and eyewitness reports, Israeli airstrikes on Gaza Strip have claimed at least 10 Palestinian lives, including two children, according to reports by eyewitnesses and local health officials. These strikes targeted residential areas and suspected militant sites – marking an alarming spike in violence amid regional unrest.
The Gaza Ministry of Health reported that strikes occurred overnight Monday and early Tuesday, striking multiple neighborhoods throughout central and northern Gaza. Ten people have been confirmed as killed while many more have been injured – some critically – according to emergency workers sifting through damaged houses for survivors. Search and rescue efforts are also currently ongoing as emergency workers search through debris of damaged structures for any survivors.
Medical sources at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City reported two children, aged six and nine respectively, were among the victims, sparking an outpouring of grief and outrage across Palestinian territory and beyond. Their names have yet to be made public but their deaths have caused widespread heartache and sadness across Palestine and its environs.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed airstrikes conducted against “militant infrastructure and weapons storage facilities” as a response to recent rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel. They further blamed Palestinian factions for using civilian areas as shields.
“These strikes were accurate and necessary to prevent further attacks against Israeli communities,” an IDF spokesperson stated in a brief statement.
Human rights groups and international observers have strongly denounced the civilian deaths, calling on both sides to show restraint. Tor Wennesland, United Nations Special Coordinator for Middle East Peace Process, issued a plea to put an end to violence immediately and urge renewed diplomatic engagement between both sides.
Children must never become targets, and the cycle of retaliation must end, said Wennesland in a statement issued Tuesday. There can only be political solutions grounded in justice and international law for these conflicts to end, she concluded.
The latest escalation comes amid high tension across the region, including clashes in the occupied West Bank and unrest at Jerusalem’s holy sites as well as a peace process which shows no signs of revival. International calls for ceasefire have become louder yet every round of violence makes de-escalation efforts appear increasingly tenuous.
Funerals for the victims in Gaza were attended with deep sadness. Families carried their children’s bodies covered by white shrouds while calling out for justice and protection for these young lives that had lost their lives in such violent attacks.
As violence escalates and diplomatic efforts remain futile, Gaza is witnessing an increasing humanitarian toll; raising urgent questions of accountability, civilian protection and how best to move forward.