4 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrike as infant dies from cold in Gaza

By Hosni Nedim

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Four Palestinians were killed and several others injured on Friday in an Israeli airstrike targeting a home in northern Gaza, according to eyewitnesses.

The strike hit a home in Beit Hanoun, where Israel’s military has intensified operations and ethnic cleansing for over two months, eyewitnesses said.

Israel has continued a large-scale ground operation in northern Gaza since Oct. 5 to allegedly prevent the Palestinian group Hamas from regrouping.

Palestinians, however, accuse Israel of seeking to occupy the area and forcibly displace its residents.

Since then, no sufficient humanitarian aid, including food, medicine and fuel has been allowed into the area, leaving the remaining population on the verge of imminent famine.

In southern Gaza, medical sources reported that an infant, Aisha Adnan Sufyan Al-Qassas, died early Friday due to extreme cold while sheltering in a tent in Khan Younis’s Al-Mawasi region.

Nearly 2 million displaced residents out of the Gaza Strip’s 2.4 million population are enduring severe humanitarian conditions, with critical shortages of food, water, and essential supplies.

Displaced families living in tattered tents or makeshift shelters face worsening hardships during cold weather fronts, struggling to keep children warm amid inadequate resources. Heavy rains often flood their shelters, exacerbating their plight.

The onslaught was the latest episode in a brutal Israeli war on the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 45,200 people, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7, 2023.

Last month, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio