Israeli strike on home in Gaza kills 19 people

Deir Al-Balah, AP: An Israeli strike on a home sheltering displaced people in the northern Gaza Strip killed at least 19, Palestinian medical officials said Wednesday. Kamal Adwan Hospital said it received the bodies after the overnight strike in the town of Beit Lahiya. Hospital records show that a family of eight were among those killed, including four children, their parents and two grandparents. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has waged a renewed offensive against Hamas militants in northern Gaza since early Oct. Another strike in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza killed at least seven people, according to al-Awda Hospital.

Records show the dead included two children, their parents and three relatives. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct 7, 2023, killing some 1,200, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250 people, including kids and older adults. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 44,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to local health officials. They say women and children make up more than half the dead but do not distinguish between fighters and civilians in their count. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

UN appeals for $4 billion for humanitarian operations: The United Nations is asking donors for over USD 4 billion to fund humanitarian operations in the Palestinian territories, most of it earmarked for war-ravaged Gaza. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs also called for the”lifting all impediments to the entry of aid” in its appeal issued Wednesday. UN agencies say aid operations in Gaza are hindered by Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of law and order. Israel says it allows enough aid to enter and blames the UN for not distributing it within the territory.

The appeal for 2025 includes USD 3.6 billion for Gaza and about USD 450 million for Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israel's offensive, launched after Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack, has destroyed vast areas of the besieged territory and displaced around 90 per cent of its population of 2.3 million. Many have been displaced multiple times and are now crammed into squalid tent camps with little in the way of food or other essentials.