UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS
By Hosni Nedim
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) — At least 10 Palestinians were killed and dozens injured in an Israeli airstrike on a municipality building in the central Gaza Strip on Saturday, according to medical sources.
Israeli fighter jets targeted the building in the city of Deir al-Balah's bustling central market area, eyewitnesses reported.
Rescue operations are ongoing, with civilians using motorcycles, animal-drawn carts, and private vehicles to rush victims to medical facilities.
Diab Al-Jarou, the mayor of Deir al-Balah city, was killed in the Israeli airstrike that targeted the municipality's headquarters in the central Palestinian enclave, the Ministry of Local Government in Gaza said in a statement.
"With the deepest sorrow and heartfelt condolences, we mourn Diab Al-Jarou, the mayor of Deir Al-Balah city, along with a number of citizens who were martyred in an Israeli airstrike targeting the municipality headquarters,” it added.
Israel has launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 44,800 victims, mostly women and children, since an attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, on Oct. 7, 2023.
The second year of genocide in Gaza has drawn growing international condemnation, with officials and institutions labeling the attacks and the blocking of aid deliveries as a deliberate attempt to destroy a population.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants last month for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense chief 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 Ikram Kouachi and Rania Abu Shamala