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Israeli airstrikes pummeled Gaza on Sunday, hitting multiple civilian targets, including a hospital, a house, a vehicle, and a municipal building, leaving at least 21 dead, including children.
Tel Aviv has vowed to bolster its security presence in the embattled coastal enclave.
Among the strikes was a predawn attack on Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, the last major healthcare facility still operating in northern Gaza.
Dr. Fadel Naim, the hospital’s director, confirmed that the emergency room, pharmacy, and surrounding structures were severely damaged.
The blast affected over 100 patients and dozens of staff members, with one patient – an evacuated girl – dying due to a lack of urgent medical care.
Israel claimed it had targeted a Hamas command center within the hospital, though it offered no evidence, and Hamas denied the accusation.
The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, which operates the hospital, condemned the attack, emphasizing the timing of the strike on Palm Sunday, marking the beginning of Christian Holy Week.
In stark contrast, worshipers in Gaza City attended church services amid the chaos, with the church’s intact walls serving as a stark reminder of the destruction that surrounded them.
The devastation at Al-Ahli Hospital was captured in video footage showing a collapsed roof and widespread rubble.
Health officials reported that patients were evacuated and treated outside, with some left lying on hospital beds in the streets.
“Nothing was left safe,” said Mohammad Abu Nasser, an injured man left outdoors, surveying the destruction.
This marks the fifth attack on Al-Ahli Hospital since the conflict began.
The strike also highlights a broader pattern of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza’s medical infrastructure, despite international laws that mandate the protection of hospitals during conflict.
In previous weeks, Israeli airstrikes on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis killed two and sparked a massive fire.
As the conflict continues, Israel’s military has insisted that Hamas uses hospitals as cover for its fighters, though these claims have been widely disputed.
Later on Sunday, another Israeli airstrike on a car in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, claimed the lives of at least seven people, including six brothers. The youngest was just 10 years old. The brothers were reportedly involved in distributing food to Palestinians. Their father, Ibrahim Abu Mahadi, lamented, “For what sin were they killed?”
In the northern Gaza Jabaliya refugee camp, another strike on a house killed at least seven people, including two women, and left a pregnant woman trapped under rubble. A neighbor, Abdallah Dardouna, described the scene: “There is no resistance, there is no Hamas, just civilians.”
In the afternoon, an Israeli strike also hit a municipal building in Deir al-Balah, killing at least three people.
A strike in Khan Younis killed another three. Israel’s military reported targeting over 90 Hamas sites in the last 48 hours, including tunnels and weapons depots, and claimed to have intercepted a projectile fired from Gaza.
The ongoing war erupted following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, incursion on southern Israel that killed over 1,200 people and took 250 hostages.
Israel has since cut off all supplies to Gaza and vowed to free the remaining hostages, while continuing its relentless strikes on Gaza.
The Health Ministry in Gaza reported that over 50,000 Palestinians have died since the conflict began, with women and children making up more than half the casualties.
Meanwhile, tensions have escalated beyond Gaza. Israel’s military reported that two missiles were launched from Yemen on Sunday afternoon, though no casualties were reported.
The Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, have claimed responsibility for the attack in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
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