The Israeli military reported that three rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory on Friday. Meanwhile, Palestinian rescuers stated that Israeli airstrikes in Gaza had killed at least 16 people, including children.
The rocket attacks are part of a recent surge in launches from the conflict-ridden territory. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned earlier this week of intensified retaliatory strikes if the attacks persist. Despite over 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hamas operatives in Gaza, such incidents had become infrequent until late December, coinciding with Israel’s ongoing three-month land and air offensive in northern Gaza.
The military confirmed that one of the rockets launched on Friday “fell adjacent to the community of Nir Am,” located near the northeastern tip of Gaza, while another landed in an unpopulated area. A third rocket triggered sirens near Beeri, opposite central Gaza. No injuries were reported from these incidents.
In Gaza, first responders reported recovering the bodies of 16 Palestinians, including several children. The airstrikes targeted Gaza City, the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, and the southern city of Rafah, according to Mahmud Bassal, spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defence. “Friday was a harsh day for the residents of Gaza, particularly in Gaza City, due to the continuous Israeli bombardment,” he told AFP.
The fatalities were attributed to airstrikes and shelling across northern, central, and southern Gaza. Three children were killed in shelling in Gaza City’s Zietun neighborhood, and two individuals lost their lives in an airstrike in Rafah, Civil Defence reported.
The Israeli military stated that, over the past 24 hours, “the Israeli air force struck approximately 40 Hamas terrorist gathering points” throughout Gaza. It also noted that some of the targets “were embedded in areas that previously served as schools.”
“Pile of Rubble and Walls”
Bassal refuted the Israeli military’s claims, instead accusing them of “preventing food and drinking water from reaching dozens of medical staff, patients, and the injured” at the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza. He reported receiving distress calls from the hospital since Thursday, stating that it is now “just a pile of rubble and walls. There’s no hospital.”
Late Friday, the Israeli military denied striking the hospital in the past day or damaging any essential equipment. It added, “there is no need to evacuate the hospital” and confirmed coordination with hospital officials to facilitate the supply of humanitarian aid.
On Sunday, a United Nations aid team visited the Indonesian Hospital. In a video statement released after his visit, UN aid official Jonathan Whittall described the scene: “Around me there’s nothing but rubble and destruction.”
The Israeli military has frequently accused Hamas of using hospitals as command centers, an allegation that Hamas operatives deny. A United Nations Human Rights Office report released on Tuesday noted that “insufficient information” has been provided to substantiate Israel’s “vague” accusations of military use of hospitals.
Israel’s military has conducted intensified raids in northern Gaza since October 6, asserting that the operations aim to prevent Hamas operatives from regrouping. United Nations rights experts stated on Monday that the siege in northern Gaza appears to be an effort “to permanently displace the local population as a precursor to Gaza’s annexation.”
Bassal estimated that approximately 10,000 people remain in the northern towns of Jabalia, Beit Lahia, and Beit Hanoun, a significant decrease from the pre-war population of 150,000 to 200,000.
Earlier this week, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned that Israel would escalate its strikes in Gaza if rocket attacks persist and hostages held in the territory are not released.
The conflict in Gaza began with Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7 last year, resulting in 1,208 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Israel’s retaliatory actions have since caused the deaths of at least 45,658 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, figures that the United Nations deems credible.
On Friday, the Israeli military reported intercepting a missile and a drone launched from Yemen. Attacks targeting Israel by Iran-backed rebels in Yemen have intensified since a November ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, another Iran-backed group in Lebanon. In response, Israel has conducted strikes in Yemen, including targeting Sanaa’s international airport in late December.
