Egypt Daily News – A spokesperson for the Gaza Civil Defense, Mahmoud Bassal, stated that Twenty three people were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting a building in the Shuja’iyya neighborhood of Gaza on Wednesday, with the majority being women and children. The Israeli army claimed that the strike targeted a “senior Hamas terrorist” responsible for planning and executing attacks from the area. The army also emphasized that “many steps were taken to minimize civilian casualties.”
The Palestinian Authority condemned the attack, considering it an “official Israeli attempt to kill our people collectively.” The Civil Defense reported that, in addition to the Twenty three fatalities, over 50 others were injured, most of whom were women and children. Rescue operations to recover bodies from the rubble were still ongoing at the time of the statement.
The victims were transferred to the Baptist Hospital in Gaza’s Old City. Bassal noted that the Israeli airstrike targeted a residential area near the Al-Hawashi Mosque in Shuja’iyya.
A spokesman for the Health Ministry stated that “the Israeli military bombed Shuja’iyya with large rockets, causing many martyrs and injuries,” adding that the situation was catastrophic and that there was a severe shortage of blood at the hospital.
A witness from Shuja’iyya, Ayoub Saleem (26), described the targeted building as a four-story structure surrounded by other homes in a densely populated area of displaced persons’ tents. He said the rockets shook the entire area, and the scene was “horrifying,” with dust and destruction filling the place, and people screaming in panic as the dead were found dismembered.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the “Shuja’iyya massacre” and called for international action consistent with international law to halt the “genocide.” The ministry described the attack as a further attempt to “officially exterminate our people collectively and destroy their existence in the Gaza Strip as part of pushing them to emigrate under Israeli occupation.”
Hamas also condemned the ongoing massacres against the Palestinian people, accusing the U.S. administration of providing full cover for Israel’s actions. They vowed that these crimes “will not go unpunished and will not be forgotten by history.”
Resumption of Military Operations
Israel resumed airstrikes and military operations in Gaza on March 18, ending a fragile ceasefire that had lasted for two months with Hamas. According to the Health Ministry in Gaza, at least 1,482 Palestinians have been killed in the renewed Israeli operations, bringing the total number of deaths to 50,846 since the war began following Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. The Hamas assault killed 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli figures.
Efforts to restore the ceasefire have so far been unsuccessful.
Hamas political bureau member, Hossam Badran, stated that “it is necessary to reach a ceasefire,” adding that “communications with mediators are still ongoing,” but emphasized that “there are no new proposals at the moment.” He also reiterated Hamas’ openness to “any ideas that could lead to a ceasefire and halt the genocide against our Palestinian people.”
U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed ongoing negotiations on Monday aimed at securing the release of more hostages held in Gaza.
