Israeli strikes have killed at least 12 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, most of them women and children, officials said Wednesday, as fighting rages nearly 15 months into the new year.
Another strike hit a house in the Jabaliya area of northern Gaza, an isolated and heavily damaged area, where Israel has launched a major offensive since early October. The Hamas-led Gaza Health Ministry said seven people were killed, including a woman and four children, and at least a dozen other people were injured.
Another overnight strike on the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza killed a woman and a child, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which received the bodies.
“Are you celebrating? Enjoy as we die. We have been dying for a year and a half,” said the man who was carrying the child's body after turning on the lights of the emergency vehicles.
The Israeli army said that soldiers fired rockets into Israel from the Bureij area overnight and that the soldiers there responded with a strike targeting the soldiers. The soldiers also issued orders for people to leave the area.
A third strike in the southern city of Khan Younis killed three people, according to Nasser Hospital and European Hospital, which recovered the bodies.
The war began when Hamas-led forces attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and abducting about 250 people. About 100 hostages are still being held in Gaza, at least one in three is believed to have died.
Israeli air and ground attacks have killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-led Health Ministry in Gaza. It says women and children make up more than half of the dead but does not say how many of those killed were soldiers.
The Israeli military says it only targets terrorists and blames Hamas for the deaths because its soldiers operate in densely populated areas. The army claims to have killed 17,000 soldiers, without providing evidence.
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The conflict has caused widespread destruction and displaced 90 percent of Gaza's 2.3 million people, many of them multiple times.
Hundreds of thousands live in tents on the beach as winter brings frequent rainstorms and temperatures drop below 10 degrees Celsius (50 F) at night. At least six infants and another person died of hypothermia, according to the Ministry of Health.
Many displaced Palestinians in central Gaza rely on charity kitchens as their only food providers amid aid restrictions and rising prices. AP footage showed a long line of children waiting for rice, the only food used in a kitchen in Deir al-Balah on Wednesday.
“Some of those kitchens are closing because they don't get help, and others are distributing little and not enough food,” said Umm Adham Shaheen, who was displaced from Gaza City.
American and Arab mediators have spent nearly a year trying to end the shooting and release hostages, but those efforts have repeatedly stalled. Hamas has called for a permanent deal, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue fighting until “total victory.”
Israel is seeing an exodus of citizens for the second year
More than 82,000 Israelis moved abroad in 2024 and 33,000 people immigrated to the country, Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics said. Another 23,000 Israelis returned after a long time abroad.
It was the second consecutive year of net departures, a rare event in the history of a country actively promoting Jewish immigration. Many Israelis, seeking a break from the war, have moved abroad, leading to concerns that it will drive a “brain drain” in fields such as medicine and technology.
Last year, 15,000 fewer people immigrated to Israel than in 2023.
The military blames a 'lapse in discipline' for the archaeologist's death
In another incident, the Israeli military blamed “burnout” and “lax morale and security” in the November killing of a 70-year-old archaeologist in southern Lebanon and a soldier while visiting a combat zone.
According to Israeli media reports, Zeev Erlich was not on duty but was wearing a military uniform and carrying a weapon. The army said he was a reservist and identified him as a “fallen soldier” when announcing his death.
Erlich was a noted West Bank immigrant and researcher of Jewish history. Media reports said he entered Lebanon to inspect an archaeological site.
The military started an investigation after the two were killed while recruiting for Hezbollah. A separate investigation is looking into who let Erlich in. The family of the soldier who was also killed expressed their frustration because of this situation.
The military says the entry of non-contracted civilians or journalists into combat zones is not widespread. However, there have been many reports of Israeli citizens who support a permanent Israeli presence in Gaza or Lebanon entering those territories.
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