Military Space News
WAR REPORT
Gaza health officials say 24 killed in Israeli strikes
Gaza health officials say 24 killed in Israeli strikes
by AFP Staff Writers
Gaza Strip, Palestinian Territories (AFP) June 22, 2024

Health officials in Gaza said Israeli air strikes on Saturday killed at least 24 people in the territory's north, a day after the International Committee of the Red Cross said 22 people were killed in shelling that damaged its office.

The Gaza City strikes added to at least 120 deaths over the previous 48 hours which the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza reported earlier Saturday.

Dr Mahmud Aliwa of Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City said his facility received 24 bodies after the strikes, which left smoke rising over the city.

Gaza's civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Basal told AFP that at least 20 were killed in a strike on a house in Al-Tuffah neighbourhood, while a strike in Al-Shati refugee camp claimed the lives of four others.

"People were going about their business" when, suddenly, "the whole area was wiped out" in an air strike, said Abu Mahmud al-Kariri, an eyewitness in Al-Shati.

Against a grey backdrop of destruction, men used a donkey cart to remove some of the dead in Al-Tuffah.

Earlier on Saturday, Israel's military said its fighter jets were striking "two Hamas military infrastructure sites" in the Gaza City area.

The European Union's foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, on Saturday called for an "independent investigation" into the shelling that damaged the ICRC office.

Jordan, which signed a peace treaty with Israel 30 years ago, condemned what it called Israel's "systematic targeting" of civilians and relief organisations.

- 'Dangerously close' -

Late Friday the ICRC said 22 dead and 45 wounded were taken to a Red Cross field hospital after shelling with "heavy calibre projectiles" near its southern Gaza office.

Local ICRC chief William Schomburg told reporters Saturday: "There were piles of dead bodies, blood everywhere" and a "flood of wounded people" seeking help.

Gaza's health ministry blamed the shelling on Israel, saying 25 were killed and 50 wounded in the coastal Al-Mawasi area, where thousands of displaced Palestinians have been sheltering in tents.

An Israel military statement on Saturday said an initial inquiry found "there was no direct attack carried out by the IDF against a Red Cross facility", but the incident was still under review and "findings will be presented to our international partners".

On Saturday witnesses reported gun battles in Gaza City between militants and Israeli forces backed by helicopter fire.

The deadliest-ever Gaza war began with an unprecedented October 7 attack by Hamas militants on southern Israel. That attack resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

The militants also seized hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza although the army says 41 are dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 37,551 people, also mostly civilians, Gaza's health ministry said on Saturday.

Exchanges of fire across the Lebanese border between Israel and the powerful Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah have also escalated, raising fears of wider war.

On Saturday a security source said a leader of the Lebanese Islamist group Jamaa Islamiya, a Hamas ally, was killed in an Israeli strike on a vehicle in eastern Lebanon.

- 'Precise strike' -

Israel's military said an aircraft carried out a "precise strike" in the Bekaa area "to eliminate the terrorist" Ayman Ghotmeh, who they said supplied weapons to Hamas and Jamaa Islamiya.

In southern Lebanon, Israeli warplanes struck Hezbollah targets, the military said.

Experts are divided on the prospect of a wider war, but United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the cross-border hostilities must not turn Lebanon into "another Gaza".

Citing "bellicose rhetoric" on both sides, he warned: "One rash move -- one miscalculation -- could trigger a catastrophe that goes far beyond the border, and frankly, beyond imagination."

Violence has also soared in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The Israeli military said on Saturday an Israeli civilian died after being shot near Qalqilya city.

Months of negotiations towards a Gaza truce and hostage release have failed to make headway, but mediator Qatar on Friday said it was still working to "bridge the gap" between Israel and Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right coalition partners strongly oppose a ceasefire.

Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges which he denies, on Saturday night faced what organisers said was the biggest anti-government protest since the war began.

Tens of thousands rallied in Tel Aviv. One demonstrator's sign accused Netanyahu of being an "Enemy of Israel".

Supporters and families of the Gaza hostages also rallied, holding their pictures aloft.

The war has destroyed much of Gaza's infrastructure and left residents short of food, fuel and other essentials.

In Jabalia, northern Gaza, the al-Balawi family lives under blankets strung up over a concrete slab in a sea of rubble.

"There is scarcity of food and water," said Abu Siraj al-Balawi. "There are no vegetables or fruit."

burs-it/srm

Related Links
Space War News

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
WAR REPORT
Myanmar armed groups accuse junta of breaking China-brokered ceasefire
Yangon (AFP) June 20, 2024
An alliance of Myanmar ethnic armed groups have accused the junta of repeatedly violating a China-brokered ceasefire in the north of the country this month and causing civilian casualties. Beijing brokered a truce between the junta and the so-called "Three Brotherhood Alliance" in January after months of fighting that displaced more than half a million people near China's southern border. The ceasefire allowed the alliance - made up of the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the Myanmar Na ... read more

WAR REPORT
US to fast-track Ukraine anti-air missile deliveries

Romania to send Patriot missile system to Ukraine

Ukraine's backers struggle to provide air-defence systems

Washington to send new Patriot missile system to Ukraine: US media

WAR REPORT
Suspected North Korean hypersonic missile explodes in mid-flight, Seoul says

Russia hits Odesa as Kremlin warns US after Ukrainian strike on Crimea

Russia blames US for missile attack on Crimea

Ukraine missile attack on Crimea kills 2, wounds 22: Moscow-appointed governor

WAR REPORT
Drone Racing Tests AI Systems for Future Space Missions

New Cargo Drone HH-100 Completes First Flight

Russia, Ukraine exchange drone, missile attacks

Drone tests radar system for planetary landings

WAR REPORT
SES Space and Defense Successfully Demonstrates Multi-orbit, Multi-band LEO Relay

Iridium Secures Five-Year $94 Million Contract with Space Systems Command

EchoStar secures contract to provide 5G to US Navy and agencies

China launches communication test satellites into medium-Earth orbit

WAR REPORT
U.S. strongly denies Netanyahu's claim weapons to Israel have been blocked

Chad ammo depot blaze kills nine, wounds dozens

Chad ammo depot blaze kills nine, wounds dozens

One dead, eight wounded in blast at Czech military base

WAR REPORT
China protests EU sanctions on firms with Russian war links

Putin warns South Korea against sending weapons to Ukraine: 'Very big mistake'

China's Xi vows to boost crackdown on corruption in military

French tech giant Atos's top shareholder drops rescue offer

WAR REPORT
Rutte: Cycling 'Trump whisperer' set to steer NATO in wobbly times

Trump to Putin: what key challenges face Rutte at NATO?

Trump to Putin: what key challenges face Rutte at NATO?

NATO names Dutch PM Rutte as next boss

WAR REPORT
Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.