At least 25 Palestinians have lost their lives in a wave of Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The devastating attacks marked a sharp escalation after several days of relative calm and resulted in severe damage to a religious endowments ministry's building in eastern Zeitoun neighbourhood.
Eyewitnesses described the scene as "chaotic" with multiple casualties reportedly buried under rubble following an Israeli air strike on the area. Furthermore, three young children were found dead on the streets of Gaza City after their bodies washed up from the nearby beach where a drone had struck a group of people earlier in the day.
The Israeli military has claimed that its forces targeted Hamas militants in response to gunfire towards areas where soldiers were operating in Khan Younis. However, Hamas has denounced the strikes as "a dangerous escalation" and urged the US to pressure Israel into enforcing the ceasefire.
The flare-up comes amid a fragile ceasefire which took effect five weeks ago, following intense fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants that resulted in over 1,200 deaths. The UN Security Council recently passed a resolution aimed at shoring up the ceasefire, but its success remains uncertain amidst ongoing tensions.
Hamas's fight against Israel has long been labelled "legitimate resistance" by the group, with its leader vowing to not give up its arms until a Palestinian state is established. Israeli officials have warned that their country would not stop or back down from its campaign unless Hamas no longer poses a threat.
Eyewitnesses described the scene as "chaotic" with multiple casualties reportedly buried under rubble following an Israeli air strike on the area. Furthermore, three young children were found dead on the streets of Gaza City after their bodies washed up from the nearby beach where a drone had struck a group of people earlier in the day.
The Israeli military has claimed that its forces targeted Hamas militants in response to gunfire towards areas where soldiers were operating in Khan Younis. However, Hamas has denounced the strikes as "a dangerous escalation" and urged the US to pressure Israel into enforcing the ceasefire.
The flare-up comes amid a fragile ceasefire which took effect five weeks ago, following intense fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants that resulted in over 1,200 deaths. The UN Security Council recently passed a resolution aimed at shoring up the ceasefire, but its success remains uncertain amidst ongoing tensions.
Hamas's fight against Israel has long been labelled "legitimate resistance" by the group, with its leader vowing to not give up its arms until a Palestinian state is established. Israeli officials have warned that their country would not stop or back down from its campaign unless Hamas no longer poses a threat.
Israel just escalates & claims they're fighting militants? Newsflash: there are civilians everywhere 
How many more lives gotta be lost before someone does something about this? 
it feels like we're stuck in this cycle of violence and retaliation, with innocent lives lost on both sides. I mean, the Israeli strikes are always justified as "targeting militants", but at what cost? 
25 Palestinians dead is a staggering number, and those three young children who washed up from the beach... my heart just goes out to their families. The ceasefire is fragile, and it feels like we're seeing more escalation rather than de-escalation. I'm all for Israel's right to defend itself, but at what price? 
. 25 lives lost? That's heartbreaking, you feel me? The imagery of children being found dead on the beach after a drone strike is just devastating 
. And the fact that the US isn't doing more to pressure Israel to enforce the ceasefire is pretty messed up... like, what are they even doing over there? 
. Israel's saying they won't back down until Hamas stops posing a threat, but that just seems to fuel more fire 
. And what about the UN Security Council's resolution? Is it just going to gather dust on some shelf somewhere? 
i mean, i'm trying to follow what's going on with the gaza strip and all, but honestly, who needs that much violence? anyway, did you know that puppies can recognize themselves in mirrors now? like, isn't that just the coolest thing? 
It costs around $400M/year but the government only allocates $50M 
The numbers are staggering! Here's a rough breakdown of Gaza's demographics: 1.9 million residents, mostly Muslims (89%), with over 700k displaced due to conflict since 2008 
Gaza's economy is on life support, with inflation at 15.6% in 2023 alone 
25 ppl lost their lives in Gaza already and it's like, the ceasefire was only like 5 wks ago 
and now they're saying it's a "dangerous escalation"?? 
what's up with that drone strike? 
it's like, why are they even using drones on ppl? 
it's like we're living in a war zone 
. Like we didn't already know that Gaza was a powder keg waiting to be ignited. It's always "chaotic" when Israel goes on a rampage, and I'm sure the rubble-filled streets of Zeitoun neighbourhood are just lovely 
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. Until the world decides to put its money where its mouth is, these kinds of conflicts will keep happening. It's all just a big mess 
those poor kids in gaza city, it's just devastating. u gotta wonder what triggers these escalations tho... like, one day calm, the next day chaos. 
. I mean, 25 lives lost in Gaza... that's not something you can "bomb" back into being 
. And those poor kids found dead on the beach? That's just a whole lotta grief for no reason 
. Hamas wants to fight for their "right" to self-determination (which is cool I guess), but Israel's all like "nope, we're not backing down" 
.
Or at least try to find a middle ground where everyone can be like "okay, fine" and move on with their lives? 
Guess that's just too much to ask, right? 
. We need to see more action from the US, UN, and other countries to help broker a lasting peace. It's not too late to make a difference 
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. How many more lives have to be lost before we can talk about a solution? 
. The damage from these strikes is insane - a whole religious endowments ministry building destroyed in one hit 
(see pic of destruction). Meanwhile, Israeli officials are saying this is all about national security, but what about human security? 
(check out this timeline of past conflicts). Anyone else feeling overwhelmed by all these stats and not sure what's next? 
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