A Call for Peace in Gaza: Help Those Affected by the Conflict

Conflicts 10:23 04.04.2025

At least 27 Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli air strike on a school in northern Gaza that was serving as a shelter for displaced families, the Hamas-run health ministry says.

Dozens more were wounded when the Dar al-Arqam school in the north-eastern Tuffah district of Gaza City was hit, it cited a local hospital as saying.

The Israeli military said it struck "prominent terrorists who were in a Hamas command and control centre" in the city, without mentioning a school.

The health ministry earlier reported the killing of another 97 people in Israeli attacks over the previous 24 hours, as Israel said its ground offensive was expanding to seize large parts of the Palestinian territory.

The spokesman for Gaza's Hamas-run Civil Defence agency, Mahmoud Bassal, said children and women were among the dead following the strike on Dar al-Arqam school.

He also said a woman who was heavily pregnant with twins was missing along with her husband, her sister, and her three children.
Video from the nearby al-Ahli hospital showed children being rushed there in cars and trucks with serious injuries.

A statement from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the site in Gaza City that it struck had been used by Hamas fighters to plan attacks against Israeli civilians and troops.

It added that numerous steps had been taken to mitigate harm to civilians.

 

Overnight, at least 12 people were killed when several homes in Gaza City's eastern Shejaiya district were struck, the Civil Defence said.
It posted a video that appeared to show the bodies of two young children being pulled by rescuers from the remains of a collapsed building.

A witness, who asked not to be named, told BBC Arabic's Gaza Lifeline programme that he had been sleeping when he was "suddenly shaken by a violent explosion and discovered that it occurred at the house of our neighbours, the Ayyad family".

There was no immediate comment from the IDF, but on Thursday morning it ordered residents of Shejaiya and four neighbouring areas to immediately evacuate to western Gaza City, warning that it was "operating with great force... to destroy the terrorist infrastructure".

This week, the IDF issued similar evacuation orders for several areas of northern Gaza, as well as the entire southern city of Rafah and parts of neighbouring Khan Younis, prompting around 100,000 Palestinians to flee, according to the UN.

Israel renewed its aerial bombardment and ground offensive in Gaza on 18 March after the first phase of a ceasefire and hostage release deal agreed with Hamas in January came to an end and negotiations on a second phase of the deal stalled.

The IDF's chief spokesperson, Brig-Gen Effie Defrin, told a briefing on Thursday that its operation had "progressed to another stage" in recent days. 

"We have expanded operations in the southern Gaza Strip with the goal of encircling and dividing the Rafah area," he said. "In northern Gaza, our troops are operating against terrorist targets, clearing the area, and dismantling terrorist infrastructure."
He added that over the past two weeks Israeli forces had struck more than 600 "terrorist targets" across Gaza and "eliminated more than 250 terrorists".

Before the strike in Tuffah, Gaza's health ministry had said that at least 1,163 people had been killed over the same period. A UN agency has said they include more than 300 children.

On Wednesday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces were establishing another military corridor that would cut off Rafah from Khan Younis.

He argued that military pressure would force Hamas to release the remaining 59 hostages it is holding, up to 24 of whom are believed to be alive.

However, Hamas said it would not engage with Israel's latest proposal for a new ceasefire, which is said to have been co-ordinated with the US, one of the mediators in the negotiations.

The Palestinian group said it accepted only the plan put forward by the two other mediators, Qatar and Egypt, for a 50-day truce.

The full details of that plan have not been disclosed, but it is understood the regional proposal would see five hostages being released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from parts of Gaza where they have recently redeployed, and the influx of humanitarian aid. There would also be negotiations on ending the war.

Israel wants a larger number of hostages be released at the start of a new truce.

In another development on Thursday, the IDF said the general staff's fact-finding mechanism was investigating the killing by Israeli forces of 15 Palestinian emergency workers near Rafah on 23 March, as well as their burial in what a UN official described as a "mass grave".

"We want to have all the facts in a way that's accurate and we can also hold accountable people if we need to," an IDF spokesman said.
A Palestinian paramedic who survived the attack, speaking to the BBC, challenged the Israeli account of how five ambulances, a fire engine and a UN vehicle were fired on while responding to emergency calls.

The military said the vehicles were "advancing suspiciously" towards its troops without headlights or emergency signals. It also said a Hamas operative and "eight other terrorists" were among those killed, but named only one.

The survivor, Munther Abed, insisted that "all lights were on" until the vehicles came under direct fire. He also rejected the military's claim that Hamas might have used the ambulances as cover, saying all the emergency workers were civilians.

The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.

More than 50,520 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's health ministry.

Madina Mammadova\\EDnews

IEPF issued a statement regarding Azerbaijani children at the UN Human Rights Council

News line

Global Stocks Tumble as Trump’s Tariffs Spark Economic Fears
12:19 04.04.2025
UK Prepares List of US Products for Potential Tariffs After Trump’s Import Taxes
12:06 04.04.2025
Tensions in South Africa’s Coalition Government: A Battle Over the Budget?
11:54 04.04.2025
Europe Prepares for Retaliation as Trump Imposes 20% Tariff on US Imports
11:45 04.04.2025
Mehmet Oz Confirmed to Lead Medicare Oversight Agency Amid Controversy
11:32 04.04.2025
Manoj Kumar-the unforgettable Bollywood Star dies at 87
11:26 04.04.2025
Social Media Influencers Increase Risks for Uncontacted Tribes, Warns Charity After US Tourist Arrest
11:09 04.04.2025
A Conference on Food and Water Security throughout the world in times of massive political shifts
11:04 04.04.2025
Blanche Hoschedé-Monet: The Hidden Talent Behind Claude Monet’s Legacy
11:01 04.04.2025
Controversial Waqf Bill Passed in Indian Lower House Amidst Heated Debate
10:56 04.04.2025
Renewed Conflict in Gaza: Ceasefire Collapse and Ongoing Hostilities
10:47 04.04.2025
Stand for Humanity: Protect Medical Workers in Conflict Zones
10:33 04.04.2025
Armenia’s mining pollution sparks transboundary environmental crisis
10:28 04.04.2025
A Call for Peace in Gaza: Help Those Affected by the Conflict
10:23 04.04.2025
Standing with Windsor’s Workers: A Stronger Future for Canada’s Auto Industry
10:16 04.04.2025
Vienna's Proactive Measures for the 5,000-Year Flood Threat
10:05 04.04.2025
Punitive or a gift? How five big economies see new Trump tariffs
15:38 03.04.2025
Battle over EU green rules shakes von der Leyen’s fragile centrist coalition
15:28 03.04.2025
David Ishkhanyan speaks about role of former president Serzh Sargsyan in First Karabakh War
13:55 03.04.2025
Vienna’s preparation for a 5,000-year flood
13:28 03.04.2025
Hungary to Withdraw from ICC as Netanyahu Visits Amid Arrest Warrant
12:53 03.04.2025
Meloni strains to hold her coalition together over Ukraine and EU rearmament
12:47 03.04.2025
The 22nd Amendment: Limiting Presidential Terms
12:33 03.04.2025
Trump's Tariffs: New Pressures on the World's Poorest and Most Vulnerable Nations
12:28 03.04.2025
Russia Boosts Military Forces as Ukraine Conflict Escalates
12:19 03.04.2025
Asian Markets Decline Amid New Tariff Announcements; Gold Hits Record High
12:06 03.04.2025
New Zealand's Response to Trump's Tariffs: Concerns and Optimism Amid Trade Tensions
11:55 03.04.2025
How Trump’s Tariffs Will Impact South Asian Economies: A Growing Strain
11:35 03.04.2025
"War with Iran almost inevitable’"
10:25 03.04.2025
AIIB preparing to issue loan to Baku Metro
16:29 02.04.2025
Azerbaijani President outlines conditions for signing peace treaty with Armenia
16:04 02.04.2025
Monetary base in Azerbaijan up by nearly 2B manats in March
16:02 02.04.2025
"Taiwan's independence incompatible with regional peace"
15:48 02.04.2025
Ghibli effect: ChatGPT usage hits record after rollout of viral feature
15:48 02.04.2025
Georgia passes law banning NGOs from state decision-making
13:57 02.04.2025
Why Azerbaijan Should Be The Face Of The Global Pomegranate Boom
11:28 02.04.2025
Is ChatGPT doing the Commission’s homework?
11:23 02.04.2025
Trump seriously considering Iran's offer of indirect nuclear talks
10:09 02.04.2025
Powerful Lyrid meteor shower to be observed from mid-to-late April
09:12 02.04.2025
The Impact of Success on Individuals and Society
11:33 01.04.2025
Hamısı