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

Talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia may be held at level of heads of state
12:21 19.05.2025
A Meeting of Nobles exhibition to open in Shusha
12:15 19.05.2025
Azerbaijan increases construction by over 2026
12:09 19.05.2025
How does space "sound"? -NASA created "music" from the sounds of black hole
12:03 19.05.2025
Azerbaijan joins Fez Festival of World Sacred Music
11:57 19.05.2025
Azerbaijan’s parliamentary delegation starts official visit to Spain
11:53 19.05.2025
EU countries agree on big defence fund with Azerbaijan- Diplomat Says
11:48 19.05.2025
Azerbaijan,Türkiye Hold Talks on Education Sector Cooperation
11:42 19.05.2025
Azerbaijani delegation attends Russia-Islamic World: Kazan Forum 2025
11:36 19.05.2025
The official opening of the Azerbaijani carpet exhibition took place in Chisinau
11:31 19.05.2025
Press review of I.Aliyev's participation in the 6th Summit of the "European Political Union"
11:25 19.05.2025
Azerbaijani delegation participated in the International Economic Forum
11:21 19.05.2025
Azerbaijan to be represented at Astana International Forum
11:16 19.05.2025
New agreement between Azerbaijan and Pakistan in the field of plant safety
11:14 19.05.2025
Ilham Aliyev: Azerbaijani healthcare has made significant steps along a long way of development
11:08 19.05.2025
Azerbaijani Ombudsman issues appeal on Human Rights
11:03 19.05.2025
Azerbaijani presidential climate envoy to attend Azerbaijan International Forum 2025
11:01 19.05.2025
Hikmat Hajiyev: Azerbaijan and Iran must continue cooperation and strengthen ties
10:57 19.05.2025
Sahiba Gafarova is on an official visit to Spain
10:51 19.05.2025
''The President's visit to Albania will be remembered as a European triumph for official Baku'' Expert Opinion
10:46 19.05.2025
Speaker of Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova visits the Vatican
10:41 19.05.2025
Speaker of Azerbaijani Parliament attends inauguration mass of Pope Leo XIV
10:36 19.05.2025
1,291 hectares of land cleared of mines last week
10:32 19.05.2025
Hikmat Hajiyev meets Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council
10:27 19.05.2025
Azerbaijan's tourism potential presented in Jordan
10:22 19.05.2025
Hikmat Hajiyev: De facto peace reigns in South Caucasus
10:21 19.05.2025
Hikmat Hajiyev attends forum in Tehran
10:19 19.05.2025
Hikmat Hajiyev: Azerbaijani-Iranian relations entered new stage of development
10:16 19.05.2025
Archaeologists discover 'lost world' of human ancestors off Java coast
10:12 19.05.2025
Hikmat Hajiyev shares on social media publications about meetings during his visit to Iran
10:07 19.05.2025
Expanding Baku-Beijing co-op: Europe may lose important partner
10:02 19.05.2025
Azerbaijan, Hungary explore interparliamentary ties
13:07 16.05.2025
Climate change is among FAO's priorities in Azerbaijan
12:33 16.05.2025
"Pashinyan's statement shows that Armenia not interested in sustainable peace"
12:27 16.05.2025
Baku hosts conference on "Implementation of artificial intelligence in agricultural practices"
12:17 16.05.2025
The next plenary Meeting of the spring session of the Milli Majlis is being held
12:04 16.05.2025
Azerbaijani oil price declines in global markets
11:57 16.05.2025
Ilham Aliyev met with the Presidents of the Council of the European Union
11:35 16.05.2025
Azerbaijani and Belarusian military medical specialists meet in Baku
11:28 16.05.2025
President Approves Medal for Emergency Ministry’s 20th Year
11:27 16.05.2025
Hamısı