Israeli airstrike on building in Gaza City leaves many casualties

By Mohamed Majid

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – Several Palestinians were killed and wounded late Thursday following an Israeli airstrike targeting a residential building in Gaza City.

Israeli warplanes struck the building in the Al-Daraj neighborhood, causing its complete destruction, witnesses told Anadolu.

They added that the attack also caused damage to a neighboring residential building and ignited a fire.

Witnesses reported an unspecified number of fatalities and injuries, with rescue teams and residents actively engaged in searching for victims under the rubble.

Casualties from the airstrike were taken to the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, a medical source informed Anadolu.

The exact number of casualties and the extent of their injuries remain unknown.

Earlier in the day, 12 Palestinians were killed, including women and children, and several others injured as Israeli warplanes struck a government facility housing displaced residents in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

A medical source told Anadolu that the dead, along with a large number of injured, were taken to Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital after the airstrike targeted a building belonging to the Ministry of Social Development.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 35,800 Palestinians have been killed, the vast majority of whom have been women and children, and at least 80,200 others injured since last October.

More than seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered it to ensure that its forces do not commit acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio