More than 30 killed in Israeli airstrikes of Maghazi refugee camp, says Gaza ministry
The Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza says more than 30 people were killed in an Israeli bombing of the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza late on Saturday, Agence France-Presse reports.
“More than 30 [dead] arrived at al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah in the massacre committed by the occupation in al-Maghazi camp in the central Gaza Strip,” a health ministry spokesperson, Ashraf Al-Qudra, said in a statement.
The Palestinian news agency Wafa earlier said 51 Palestinians had been killed and scores wounded in the bombardment.
Hamas said in a statement posted on Telegram that Israel had “directly” bombed citizens’ homes, adding that most of the dead were women and children.
“An Israeli air strike targeted my neighbours’ house in al-Maghazi camp, my house next door partially collapsed,” said Mohammed Alaloul, 37, a journalist working for the Turkish Anadolu Agency.
Alaloul told AFP his 13-year-old son, Ahmed, and his four-year-old son, Qais, were killed in the attack, along with his brother. His wife, mother and two other children were injured.
An Israeli military spokesperson said it was looking into whether the Israel Defence Forces had been operating in the area at the time of the bombing.
Key events
In case you missed it earlier: the United States and its Arab allies appeared divided over calls for a ceasefire in Israel’s military offensive against Hamas as the US pushed for a more temporary pause in fighting amid growing global anger over the rising death toll among Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.
On Saturday, several Middle East foreign ministers urged the US to persuade Israel to agree to a ceasefire in a meeting with the secretary of state, Antony Blinken. The top US diplomat, however, dismissed the idea, saying such a halt would only benefit Hamas, allowing the militant organisation to regroup and attack again.
The diplomatic wrangling came as the conflict entered week five, with reports that more than 30 people were killed in a strike on the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza.
You can read the full wrap of the war’s latest developments here:
Pro-Palestinian rallies around world call for ceasefire
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators staged protests in London, Berlin, Paris, Ankara, Istanbul, Sydney and Washington on Saturday to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and castigate Israel after its military intensified its assault against Hamas, Reuters reports.
In London, television footage showed large crowds holding sit-down protests blocking parts of the city centre, before marching to Trafalgar Square. Police said they made 29 arrests.
Thousands of protesters marched down the streets of Washington waving Palestinian flags, some chanting “Biden, Biden you cannot hide, you signed up for genocide”, before congregating at Freedom Plaza, steps away from the White House.
In central Paris, thousands marched to call for a ceasefire with placards reading “Stop the cycle of violence” and “To do nothing, to say nothing is to be complicit”. It was one of the first, big gatherings in support of Palestinians to be legally allowed in Paris since the Hamas attack of 7 October.
In Berlin, demonstrators waved Palestinian flags, demanding a ceasefire. One woman marched with her arm in the air, her hand covered in fake blood.
Hundreds of protesters gathered in Istanbul and Ankara, a day before a visit to Turkey by US secretary of state Antony Blinken for talks on Gaza.
In Sydney, pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in the city’s Hyde Park, some carrying placards or Palestinian flags.
The United Nations has warned of a “catastrophic” situation for children in Gaza, as Israeli bombs hit a school being used as a shelter and landed outside a hospital and Israel came under mounting pressure over the civilian suffering caused by its campaign.
More than 40% of the dead in Gaza after nearly four weeks of war were children, the UN said, with 3,900 reported child victims, and another 1,250 missing and presumed buried under bombed buildings.
With little rescue machinery, and hospitals overcrowded and running out of supplies, the chances of survival for those trapped in rubble are painfully low.
“Women, children and newborns in Gaza are disproportionately bearing the burden” of a month of fighting in the tiny territory, agencies supporting children, women, health services and Palestinian refugees said in a joint statement.
The full story from Emma Graham-Harrison and Jason Burke is here:
More than 30 killed in Israeli airstrikes of Maghazi refugee camp, says Gaza ministry
The Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza says more than 30 people were killed in an Israeli bombing of the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza late on Saturday, Agence France-Presse reports.
“More than 30 [dead] arrived at al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah in the massacre committed by the occupation in al-Maghazi camp in the central Gaza Strip,” a health ministry spokesperson, Ashraf Al-Qudra, said in a statement.
The Palestinian news agency Wafa earlier said 51 Palestinians had been killed and scores wounded in the bombardment.
Hamas said in a statement posted on Telegram that Israel had “directly” bombed citizens’ homes, adding that most of the dead were women and children.
“An Israeli air strike targeted my neighbours’ house in al-Maghazi camp, my house next door partially collapsed,” said Mohammed Alaloul, 37, a journalist working for the Turkish Anadolu Agency.
Alaloul told AFP his 13-year-old son, Ahmed, and his four-year-old son, Qais, were killed in the attack, along with his brother. His wife, mother and two other children were injured.
An Israeli military spokesperson said it was looking into whether the Israel Defence Forces had been operating in the area at the time of the bombing.
Opening summary
Welcome to our rolling live coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, now on day 30. This is Adam Fulton and here’s an overview of the latest to bring you up to speed as it turns 8am in Gaza City and Tel Aviv.
More than 30 people were killed in an Israeli bombing of the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza late on Saturday, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.
Hamas said in a statement on Telegram that Israel had “directly” bombed citizens’ homes, adding that most of the dead were women and children.
The Palestinian news agency Wafa earlier put the death toll at 51, with scores wounded.
An Israeli military spokesperson said it was looking into whether Israel forces were operating in the area at the time of the bombing.
Meanwhile, pro-Palestinian demonstrators staged protests on Saturday in cities around the world – including London, Berlin, Paris, Istanbul, Washington and Sydney – to demand a ceasefire.
More on those stories shortly. In other news:
-
US president Joe Biden signalled there were small signs of progress being made towards a humanitarian pause in Israel-Hamas war on Saturday. US officials have been pushing for a pause but so far with little impact.
-
The Palestine Red Crescent Society received 30 aid trucks that entered Gaza through the Rafah border crossing on Saturday. Three were handed to the Red Cross and 19 to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. Eight trucks from the Egyptian Red Crescent were delivered to the Palestine Red Crescent.
-
Gaza’s Hamas-run government of Gaza suspended the evacuation of foreign passport holders to Egypt on Saturday after Israel refused to allow some wounded Palestinians to be evacuated to Egyptian hospitals, a border official said.
-
Israeli clashes with Palestinians were reported across the occupied West Bank overnight on Saturday, including in Jenin, Nablus and Tulkarm.
-
Hamas’s armed wing said more than 60 hostages were missing due to Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. Abu Ubaida, the spokesperson for the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam brigades, also said on Hamas’s Telegram account that 23 bodies of Israeli hostages were trapped under the rubble. Reuters could not immediately verify the statement.
-
Protesters gathered outside the residence of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid growing anger at the government’s failures that led to Hamas’s deadly attacks against Israel on 7 October. Protesters also gathered in Tel Aviv, with many holding signs that said “Ceasefire” and others that read “Release the hostages now at all costs”.
-
Agence France-Presse has called on Israel to provide “an in-depth and transparent investigation” into the exact involvement of its army after a strike severely damaged its office in Gaza City, which has been shelled for weeks. “A strike on the offices of an international news agency sends a deeply troubling message to all the journalists working in such difficult conditions in Gaza,” the news agency’s chairman and CEO Fabrice Fries said.
-
US secretary of state Antony Blinken has reaffirmed US support for “humanitarian pauses” in the ongoing fight between Israel and Hamas. In an address in Amman, Jordan, about sparing civilians and speeding up aid deliveries entering into Gaza, Blinken said: “The United States believes that all of these efforts will be facilitated by humanitarian pauses.”
-
Four police officers were injured and 29 people were arrested after thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in London’s Trafalgar Square demanding a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. They were arrested for inciting racial hatred, other racially motivated crimes, violence and assaulting a police officer, the Metropolitan Police said. It was the fourth consecutive week of London demonstrations in support of Palestinians.
-
Turkey has announced it is recalling its ambassador to Israel and cutting contact with Netanyahu. Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat called Saturday’s move “another step by the Turkish president that sides with the Hamas terrorist organisation.”
-
Israel will locate and kill Hamas’s Gaza chief, Yahya Sinwar, Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant said. “We will find Sinwar and will eliminate him,” Gallant said on Saturday as Israeli forces fought street battles with Hamas in the Palestinian territory.
-
Thousands of people filled the streets of downtown Washington DC on Saturday to protest against the Biden administration’s support of Israel and its continued military campaign in Gaza. The demonstrators wore black and white keffiyehs as an enormous Palestinian flag was unfurled by a crowd that filled Pennsylvania Avenue, the street leading up to the White House.
