Four children were among 16 people killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza this week, according to Palestinian officials.
On Monday, Palestinian officials reported that an Israeli airstrike near the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza resulted in at least 10 deaths, including two children and four women. The Awda Hospital, which received the bodies, confirmed the death toll and reported that 13 others were wounded. Hospital records indicate the victims included a mother, her child, and five of her siblings.
A second strike on a home in Gaza City killed six people, including a woman and two children, according to the Civil Defense, first responders operating under the Hamas-run government.
Israel claims it targets only militants and accuses Hamas and other armed groups of putting civilians at risk by operating in residential areas. The military rarely comments on specific strikes, which often result in civilian casualties, including women and children.
Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed since Hamas’ October 7 attack ignited the Israel-Hamas war nearly a year ago. The ministry does not distinguish between fighters and civilians but states that over half of those killed were women and children. Israel claims to have killed over 17,000 militants, though it has not provided evidence to support this figure.
Since the beginning of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, roughly 90 percent of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million has been displaced.
A Palestinian woman walks past buildings damaged by Israeli bombing in Gaza on September 14. Palestinian officials said on September 16 that Israeli airstrikes in Gaza killed 16 people, including four children.
OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images
Last week, the United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) issued a report stating that the West Bank is experiencing a “rapid and alarming economic decline.”
“The Palestinian economy is in free fall,” Pedro Manuel Moreno, the deputy secretary-general of UNCTAD, said. “The report calls for the international community to halt this economic free fall, address the humanitarian crisis and lay the groundwork for lasting peace and development.”
Moreno noted that for the Palestinian economy to recover, it will need a “comprehensive recovery plan,” which includes the lifting of Israel’s blockade in Gaza and the release of hostages in the ongoing war. The report did not address any possible corruption within Palestinian institutions.
Mutasim Elagraa, the coordinator of UNCTAD’s assistance for Palestinians, said, “If we want to return Gaza to pre-October 2023, we need tens of billions of dollars, or even more, and decades.”
Gaza’s economic output plummeted to just over $221 million during the six months spanning the final quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, according to the latest available data. This represents only 16 percent of the output recorded during the same time frame in 2022-2023 when the total surpassed $1.34 billion, the agency reported.
This article includes reporting from the Associated Press.
