Israeli airstrikes kill eight at Gaza aid station, witnesses say By Reuters
Written by Nidal al-Mughrabi
Cairo – Eight Palestinians were killed Sunday in an Israeli airstrike on a training college near Gaza City that is used to distribute aid, Palestinian witnesses said, as Israeli tanks advanced on the southern city of Rafah.
The strike hit part of a vocational college run by the UN refugee agency for Palestine, UNRWA, which is now providing aid to displaced families, witnesses said.
“Some were coming to receive coupons, others were taken out of their homes and sheltered here, some were getting flooded, others were receiving coupons, suddenly we heard something falling and ran away, those who were carrying water let it spill,” said Mohammed Tafesh, one of the witnesses.
A Reuters photographer saw a low-rise building completely destroyed and bodies wrapped in blankets lying on the side of the road, waiting to be taken away.
“We brought out the martyrs [from beneath the rubble]one who usually sells cold drinks, another who usually sells cakes and others who distribute or receive coupons,” said Tafesh. Thank God, the condition of the injured is good.”
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Juliette Touma, Director of Communications at UNRWA, said the organization was checking the details of the reported attack before providing further details.
“Since the start of the war, we have recorded that almost 190 of our buildings have been hit. This is the majority of our buildings in Gaza,” he said.
193 UNRWA team members were killed in the conflict, he said.
More than eight months into Israel’s war in central Palestine controlled by Hamas, its advance is centered on two areas its forces have yet to capture – Rafah in the southern tip of Gaza and the area around Deir al-Balah in the center.
Israel’s ground and air campaign in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed southern Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
The attack left Gaza in ruins, killing nearly 37,600 people, according to Palestinian health authorities, and leaving nearly all of the population homeless and destitute.
ISRAEL APPROACHES RAFAH MAWASI’S CAMP
Residents say Israeli tanks have advanced to the outskirts of the Mawasi refugee camp in northwest Rafah in a fierce battle with Hamas-led forces, part of an offensive in west and north Rafah where they recently blew up dozens of houses. days.
Images of two Israeli tanks parked on top of a hill overlooking a coastal area circulated on social media, but Reuters could not independently verify them.
“The fighting is intense. The soldiers are heading towards the Mawasi area now, which has forced the families to head towards Khan Younis,” said another resident who asked not to be identified on the chat app.
The Israeli army said it was continuing “intelligence and targeted operations” in the Rafah area and found weapons stores and tunnels, and killed Palestinian gunmen.
The armed wings of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad organization said their fighters attacked Israeli forces in Rafah with anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs and pre-planted explosives.
Another strike killed two people in Nuseirat in central Gaza.
On Saturday, Palestinian health officials said at least 40 Palestinians were killed in separate Israeli strikes in some northern Gaza districts, where Israeli forces said they attacked Hamas military infrastructure. Hamas said the targets were civilians.
In Beit Lahiya, north of the Gaza Strip, health officials at the Kamal Adwan Hospital said two children died of malnutrition, taking the number of children who died of malnutrition or dehydration from October 7 to at least 31, a number that health officials say is below them. – recording.
(Reporting and writing by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem and Mahmoud Issa in Gaza; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
