Gaza death toll surpasses 9,000 as Israeli air strikes target hospitals and civilians

Agencies | Gaza City                                                 

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Death toll from Israel’s continuing bombardment of Gaza topped 9,000 yesterday, with Israeli air strikes targeting hospitals, an ambulance, people fleeing Gaza City, and a Palestinian journalist’s home.

The health ministry of Gaza said yesterday afternoon that a total of 9,227 Palestinians have died since October 7th, including 3,826 children and 2,405 women. An AFP report of yesterday evening, quoting the Gaza government, said many people have died when Israel targeted a convoy of ambulances transporting the wounded near the territory’s largest hospital.

At least 20 Palestinians were killed and dozens more wounded in an Israeli air attack on a UN-run school in northern Gaza, says the Ministry of Health. The attack on ambulances comes at a time when over 15 hospitals in Gaza have become non-functional due to Israeli air strikes and lack of fuel and patients are being ferried from one hospital to another.

Mohammed Abu Hatab, a journalist with the Palestinian Authority’s television channel Palestine TV, was killed along with his family when the apartment building in which they were staying was hit by an Israeli air strike shortly after he returned from reporting another Israeli bombing.

‘Deliberate assassination’

Palestine TV has accused Israel of carrying out a deliberate assassination, according to news reports. AFP’s Gaza bureau at Rimal sustained significant damage when an air strike hit the building a few minutes before midday.

AFP is the only major international news agency currently operating a live video feed from Gaza City. An eight-member team who are normally present in the office were evacuated to southern Gaza on October 13th following an Israeli military order The live feed has not been affected by the strike and is continuing, AFP said.

Fabrice Fries, AFP chairman and chief executive, said, “AFP condemns in the strongest possible terms this strike on its Gaza City bureau.”

Fleeing from bombardment

Another news report yesterday evening said 14 Palestinians who were fleeing from the bombardment in the north of Gaza to the southern side were killed in an Israeli air strike.

The attack occurred on Gaza’s coastal road, which the Israeli military had previously asked civilians to take to travel south, AFP report said. Eight Palestinians were killed in Israeli raids across the West Bank on Thursday and Friday, the health ministry of Gaza said.

Three men aged between 17 and 26 were killed in the northern city of Jenin when a drone strike hit a house in a refugee camp, two men aged 33 and 36 were murdered during a military raid at Fawwar refugee camp in the southern city of Hebron, a 17-year-old was shot dead in Hebron, a 29-year-old man died during an Israeli arrest operation in Qalandiya refugee camp situated between Jerusalem and Ramallah, two Palestinians were shot dead in Jenin, and another Palestinian who was hit by Israeli fire in Nablus on Wednesday succumbed to the injuries.