Alarming rise in Palestinian civilian casualties amid Israeli airstrikes

Palestinian officials have said that Israeli military airstrikes in Gaza massacred 15 Palestinian families, causing more civilian deaths.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza, the number of people killed by Israeli bombings in the confined territory has risen to 436, with 91 children and 61 women among the dead. The current escalation of hostilities between Hamas and Israel has also been blamed by the UN for displacing more than 123,000 Palestinians in Gaza.

At least 32 Palestinians were killed in new Israeli bombings on Monday, including 19 members of the same family from Rafah, south of Gaza City.

This marked one of the deadliest episodes of violence in the territory in many years. In a separate strike in Khan Younis, five Palestinians were killed. Furthermore, four people perished in another airstrike in the al Zaatar neighborhood in northern Gaza, while a house in Deir al Balah in central Gaza was targeted, resulting in three fatalities. Tragically, a girl was killed, and several individuals were injured during an attack on a mosque in the Al Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City.

Israeli fighter jets carried out multiple airstrikes in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, as reported by the Interior Ministry affiliated with the Palestinian group Hamas. The Israeli army stated that its airstrikes aimed to degrade the capabilities of Hamas, and these attacks included the destruction of command posts, including one situated in a mosque in Jabaliya, which was described as an “operational asset used by Hamas.”

In response to these events, Palestinian groups in Gaza launched a series of rocket attacks into southern Israel.