At least 12 Palestinians were martyred in Israeli attacks. Gaza Officials said Wednesday that the strip, mostly women and children, is at the heart of a nearly 15-month conflict since the start of the new year.
An attack targeted a house in the Jabalia area of northern Gaza, the most isolated and heavily damaged part of the territory, where Israel A major operation has been launched since early October. The Hamas-led Gaza Health Ministry said seven people were killed, including a woman and four children, and at least a dozen others were wounded.
A woman and a child were killed in another late-night attack on the Burij refugee camp built in central Gaza, according to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which received the bodies.
“Are you celebrating? Let's have fun while we die. For a year and a half, we've been dying,” said a man carrying the body of a child in the flashing lights of emergency vehicles.
The Israeli military said militants fired rockets at Israel overnight from the Borej area, and its forces retaliated by killing one militant. The army also issued orders to evacuate the area.
A third attack in the southern city of Khan Younis killed three people, according to Naseer Hospital and European Hospital, which received the bodies.
The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and kidnapping around 250. There are still about 100 hostages in Gaza, a third of whom are believed to have died.
According to the Hamas-led Gaza Health Ministry, more than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air and ground operations. It said more than half of the dead were women and children, but did not say how many militants were among the dead.
The Israeli military says it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian casualties because its fighters operate in densely populated areas. The army says it has killed 17,000 militants without providing evidence.
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The conflict has caused widespread destruction and displaced nearly 90 percent of Gaza's 2.3 million population, many of them multiple times.
Hundreds of thousands of people live in tents on the coast as winter rains frequently and temperatures drop below 10 degrees Celsius (50 F) at night. According to the Ministry of Health, at least six infants and another person have died of hypothermia.
Many displaced Palestinians in central Gaza rely on charity kitchens as their sole food provider amid aid restrictions and skyrocketing prices. AP footage shows a long line of children waiting for rice, which was the only thing served at Deir al-Balah's kitchen on Wednesday.
“Some of these kitchens close because they don't get aid, and others distribute small amounts of food and it's not enough,” said Umm Adham Shaheen, a displaced person from Gaza City.
American and Arab mediators have spent nearly a year trying to broker a ceasefire and release the hostages, but those efforts have repeatedly stalled. Hamas has called for a lasting ceasefire, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue fighting until “total victory”.
Israel sees net outflow of citizens for second straight year.
Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics said more than 82,000 Israelis moved abroad in 2024 and 33,000 immigrated to the country. Another 23,000 Israelis returned after long periods abroad.
It was the second straight year of net departures, a rare event in the history of a country that actively encourages Jewish immigration. Many Israelis, seeking a break from the war, have moved abroad, raising concerns about whether this will lead to a “brain drain” in fields such as medicine and technology.
Last year, 15,000 fewer people immigrated to Israel than in 2023.
The army blamed 'discipline' for the archaeologist's death
In a separate development, Israel's military blamed “operational burnout” and “weakness of discipline and security” in the November killing of a 70-year-old archaeologist in southern Lebanon while visiting a war zone with a soldier. Blamed.
According to Israeli media reports, Zev Ehrlich was not on active duty but was wearing a military uniform and carrying a weapon. The military said he was a reservist and identified him as a “fallen soldier” when it announced his death.
Ehrlich was a noted West Bank settler and researcher of Jewish history. Media reports said he had entered Lebanon for an archaeological dig.
After the death of both of them in a Hezbollah attack, the army started an investigation. A separate investigation is being conducted into who allowed Ehrlich to enter. The families of the soldiers who were killed with them have expressed their anger over the situation.
The military said it is not common for civilians who are not military contractors or journalists to enter war zones. Still, there have been numerous reports of Israeli citizens who support a permanent Israeli presence in Gaza or Lebanon entering those territories.
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