Israeli military ‘regrets harm to civilians’ after dozens killed in refugee camp strike
The Israeli military has said it “regrets the harm” caused by an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) strike that killed dozens of people in the Maghazi refugee camp in the centre of Gaza earlier this week.
About 86 people were killed in the Israeli airstrike in the Maghazi camp, east of Deir al-Balah, late on Sunday, according to figures by the UN human rights office.
An Israeli military official, speaking to Israel’s Kan news today, said:
The type of munition did not match the nature of the attack, causing extensive collateral damage that could have been avoided.
In a later statement, the IDF said:
A preliminary investigation revealed that additional buildings located near the targets were also hit during the strikes, which likely caused unintended harm to additional uninvolved civilians.
The IDF said it “regretted the harm” to noncombatants in the incident, saying that the strike had targeted Hamas operatives but caused unexpected harm to civilians who were not involved.
Key events
Israel is preparing to allow the partial return of residents to evacuated towns along the Gaza border, war cabinet minister Benny Gantz has said.
Gantz, who heads the National Unity party, said Israel is “getting closer to the day when we can allow a return to some of the communities”, the Times of Israel reported.
The minister told representatives of several southern regional councils that he had discussed a partial return to the evacuated towns and that “we are all preparing for it”. He added:
I will work to have the issue brought up for discussion in the war cabinet in the near future.
About 125,00 people have been evacuated from Israeli towns and villages on the borders of Gaza and Lebanon since 7 October, the news outlet said.
Here are some of the latest images sent to us from Gaza and Israel.
At least 20 people were killed and 55 wounded by an Israeli airstrike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip today, according to a Gaza health ministry spokesperson.
The incident occurred near the Kuwaiti hospital, Al Jazeera reported, citing its correspondent who said he witnessed “a Palestinian girl who was injured, seriously injured, and another woman whose face was fully covered with blood” as casualties entered the hospital.
“The airstrike has completely flattened the residential building that is full displaced people,” the correspondent said.
Until now rescue operations by the ambulances and civil defence teams continue to pull the people from under the rubble.
The report has not been verified. The Israel Defense Forces have not yet commented on the report.
Israel’s war cabinet is expected to meet tonight to discuss its plan for Gaza after the war with Hamas ends, according to reports.
The meeting comes following reports that Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has been putting off the discussion of plans for control of the Palestinian territory.
Netanyahu has reportedly refused multiple requests from security officials to arrange a meeting on decisions relating to “the day after” Israel declares it has achieved its goals against Hamas in control of the Gaza Strip.
Israeli military ‘regrets harm to civilians’ after dozens killed in refugee camp strike
The Israeli military has said it “regrets the harm” caused by an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) strike that killed dozens of people in the Maghazi refugee camp in the centre of Gaza earlier this week.
About 86 people were killed in the Israeli airstrike in the Maghazi camp, east of Deir al-Balah, late on Sunday, according to figures by the UN human rights office.
An Israeli military official, speaking to Israel’s Kan news today, said:
The type of munition did not match the nature of the attack, causing extensive collateral damage that could have been avoided.
In a later statement, the IDF said:
A preliminary investigation revealed that additional buildings located near the targets were also hit during the strikes, which likely caused unintended harm to additional uninvolved civilians.
The IDF said it “regretted the harm” to noncombatants in the incident, saying that the strike had targeted Hamas operatives but caused unexpected harm to civilians who were not involved.
A UN peacekeeper was injured when a group of young men attacked a patrol in south Lebanon, the UN mission has said.
In a statement, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) said a vehicle was also damaged during the Wednesday night incident in the village of Taybeh.
Attacks on individuals “serving the cause of peace are not only condemnable, but they are violations of resolution 1701 and Lebanese law”, it said.
Peacekeepers’ freedom of movement is vital as we work to restore security and stability along the blue line.
It called on Lebanese authorities to investigate the attack and bring the perpetrators to justice.
In a separate incident on Thursday morning, a peacekeepers’ convoy travelling through the border village of Kfar Kila was briefly blocked by residents, a Unifil spokesperson said. The peacekeepers were able to move on “after a brief discussion with locals”, they added.
Bethan McKernan
Israel and Hezbollah, the powerful Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon, have traded near-daily volleys of missiles, airstrikes and shelling across the UN-controlled blue line separating the countries since 7 October.
About 150 people in Lebanon have been killed, including 17 civilians, and 11 in Israel, including four civilians, with tens of thousands in both countries displaced from their homes.
Washington and Paris are leading intense secret negotiations to de-escalate the hostilities along the blue line, which are believed to include the possibility of finally resolving disputed territory on the border and persuading Hezbollah to withdraw its forces north of the Litani River, about 35km away.
The move would be in accordance with a UN resolution from the last war in 2006, but Hezbollah draws much of its grassroots support from the southern towns and villages closest to Israel, which were occupied for the better part of two decades before Israel withdrew its forces in 2000, and is unlikely to willingly concede its raison d’etre. A senior European diplomat in the region said:
The tit-for-tat on the blue line is clearly and steadily getting worse. Hezbollah engages in this sort of brinkmanship from time to time, but our prevailing assessment is that escalation is becoming more and more likely.
Bethan McKernan
Israeli officials have hinted that the “diplomatic hourglass” is running out to reach a negotiated solution to the escalating fighting on the boundary with Lebanon.
A report from Israel’s Kan radio on Thursday, after a particularly intense rocket salvo hit the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona, quoted a government source as saying that the parties were “approaching the point when the chance of reaching an agreement that might guarantee that Hezbollah was distanced from the border would be exhausted … The sand in the diplomatic hourglass in Lebanon is running out.”
Those remarks followed comments by the foreign minister, Eli Cohen, after a trip to the north on Wednesday. He said:
There are only two options – a political solution or military operation. What existed prior to 7 October won’t any more … We will grant a certain amount of time for a political solution. And if none is [reached], all options are on the table.
Another minister, Benny Gantz, said that the “situation on Israel’s northern border demands change”. He said at a press conference on Wednesday:
The stopwatch for a diplomatic solution is running out; if the world and the Lebanese government don’t act in order to prevent the firing on Israel’s northern residents, and to distance Hezbollah from the border, the IDF will do it.
The kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel has confirmed the death of Judy Weinstein, one of the hostages taken by Hamas during the 7 October terror attacks.
Weinstein, 70, an American-Canadian-Israeli triple citizen, was “fatally wounded” on 7 October during the attacks alongside her Israeli-American husband, Gadi Haggai, 73, a spokesperson for the kibbutz said.
The bodies of the couple “remain held in captivity by Hamas”, a statement said. It continued:
Judy was an English teacher, who specialised in teaching children with special needs. For the past few years she has also taught mindfulness to children and teenagers who suffered from anxiety caused by the ongoing rocket fire from Gaza.
Children being killed in West Bank at ‘unprecedented levels’, says UN
The number of children who have been killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has reached an “unprecedented” level, the UN children’s fund (Unicef) has warned.
Eighty-three children have been killed in the West Bank in the past 12 weeks, Unicef’s regional director for the Middle East and north Africa, Adele Khodr, said in a statement on Thursday. That figure is more than double the number of children killed in all of 2022, she said.
“This year has been the deadliest year on record for children in the West Bank,” she said. In addition, she said that more than 576 children have been injured and others have reportedly been detained since 7 October. She added:
As the world watches on in horror at the situation in the Gaza Strip, children in the West Bank are experiencing a nightmare of their own. Living with a near-constant feeling of fear and grief is, sadly, all-too-common for children affected.
She said the UN agency urged all parties to abide by their obligations “to protect children from conflict-related violence and protect their most basic right simply to be alive,” adding:
Children should never be the target of violence, no matter who or where they are.
Israel’s foreign minister, Eli Cohen, visited Cyprus last week for talks on setting up a maritime humanitarian corridor to Gaza.
During his visit to Nicosia, Cohen expressed support for creating a “fast track” for aid to be sent to Gaza by sea.
“International aid, well supervised, will help the region gain more stability and prosperity,” he said after talks with his Cypriot counterpart, Constantinos Kombos.
Under the plan, the aid would be checked in Cyprus by a joint committee, including representatives from Israel. Cyprus has said it is ready to deliver large quantities of aid through this “maritime lifeline”, which expected to provide “a sustained flow of high-volume humanitarian assistance to the civilians” in Gaza.
The initiative faces logistical, political and security challenges, as Gaza lacks port facilities. The UK has offered amphibious vessels able to access the territory’s coastline without the need for special infrastructure, according to Reuters.
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
