Daily Times

Gaza’s Health Ministry reported 35 Palestinians killed and 94 injured in the last 24 hours as Israeli forces continue to attack Shujayea, displacing hundreds.

Israeli forces intensified their assault on Gaza, with the Health Ministry confirming 35 fatalities and 94 injuries in the latest reporting period. Among the casualties, an Israeli drone strike in the Khirbet al-Adas area of Rafah killed one Palestinian and wounded others, according to Al Jazeera Arabic.

Artillery shelling injured several civilians in Gaza City’s Tuffah neighborhood. Two young girls were killed overnight in an attack on Bureij refugee camp, part of a displaced family whose home in northern Gaza had already been destroyed. Their father remains hospitalized in critical condition. A separate drone strike targeted a tent sheltering a displaced family in Maghazi refugee camp, further compounding the suffering of those who had already lost their homes. More casualties were reported in Deir el-Balah and Nuseirat refugee camps, where a mosque was destroyed. Bodies of victims have overwhelmed morgues, including at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where ten were retrieved from multiple attack sites.

Asem Alnabih, Gaza City Municipality spokesperson, highlighted a brewing humanitarian crisis on X (formerly Twitter), citing heavy rainfall and extensive damage to sewage and water infrastructure caused by Israeli strikes.

“Since the aggression began, over 175,000 meters of sewage pipelines, 15,000 meters of stormwater drainage systems, and 105,000 meters of water supply networks have been destroyed,” Alnabih stated.

He warned of a looming catastrophe if repairs to the Sheikh Radwan Basin drainage system are delayed, endangering residents and displaced families in nearby shelters.

Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, described the immense challenges facing healthcare workers under siege. Injured in an Israeli shelling, Abu Safia remains resolute.

“We are targeted daily. Yesterday, 12 doctors were injured inside the hospital. Despite this, we will never stop providing humanitarian services,” he said.

Israeli military operations, including artillery fire and bulldozing of agricultural land, continued across the Gaza Strip. Witnesses reported relentless attacks from evening hours through the early morning, with widespread destruction of residential buildings and deepening displacement.

In Nuseirat refugee camp, ongoing strikes on homes and shelters, including tents housing displaced families, have exacerbated civilian casualties. Two men were killed in a recent tent attack. Funerals for victims, including two girls killed in Bureij, underline the persistent human toll.

The Gaza Health Ministry has recorded 44,211 Palestinian deaths and 104,567 injuries since October 7, 2023. Families across the Strip face mounting casualties, widespread destruction, and an unyielding cycle of displacement as the Israeli violence continues.

Meanwhile, top EU diplomat Josep Borrell called for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war while on a visit to Lebanon on Sunday, as the militant group claimed attacks deep into Israel.

The Israeli military said Iran-backed Hezbollah fired around 160 projectiles into Israel during the day. Some of them were intercepted but others caused damage to houses in central Israel, according to AFP images.

A day after the health ministry said Israeli strikes on Beirut and across Lebanon killed 84 people, state media reported two strikes on Sunday on the capital’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.

Israel’s military said it had attacked “headquarters” of the militant group “hidden within civilian structures” in south Beirut.

War between Israel and Hezbollah escalated in late September, nearly a year after the group began launching strikes in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas following that group’s October 7 attack on Israel.

The conflict has killed at least 3,754 people in Lebanon since October 2023, according to the health ministry, most of them since September.

On the Israeli side, authorities say at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians have been killed.

Earlier this week, US special envoy Amos Hochstein said in Lebanon that a truce deal was “within our grasp”, and then headed to Israel for talks with officials there.

In the Lebanese capital, Borrell held talks with parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, who has led mediation efforts on behalf of ally Hezbollah.

“We see only one possible way ahead: an immediate ceasefire and the full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701,” Borrell said.

“Lebanon is on the brink of collapse”, he warned.

Under Resolution 1701, which ended the last Hezbollah-Israel war of 2006, Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should be the only armed forces present in the southern border area. The resolution also called for Israel to withdraw troops from Lebanon, and reiterated earlier calls for “disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon.”