August 2024 Deir el-Balah attacks

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August 2024 Deir el-Balah attacks
Part of the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip and the alleged Gaza genocide during the Israel–Hamas war
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Az-Zawayda
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Nuseirat camp
Locations within the Gaza Strip
Location Az-Zawayda and Nuseirat refugee camp, Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip
Date17 August 2024
Attack type
Airstrikes and naval strikes
Deaths34+ Palestinians [1]
InjuredMultiple [1]
PerpetratorFlag of the Israel Defense Forces.svg  Israel Defense Forces

On 17 August 2024, the Israel Defense Forces conducted a series of military attacks on az-Zawayda in Deir al-Balah and in the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing at least 34 people including a family of fifteen. The military strikes and civilian deaths were conducted shortly following the conclusion of ceasefire negotiations in Qatar between Hamas and Israel, mediated by the United States. [1]

Contents

Background

In the midst of the attacks, ceasefire negotiations were ongoing in the Qatari capital of Doha between Israel and Hamas, mediated by the United States. United States President Joe Biden made a statement on the eve of the attacks stating that he was "optimistic" about the progress made towards bridging gaps in demands and towards negotiating a ceasefire agreement. [1]

Contrary to this, Israeli officials states that they are attempting to "lower expectations" of a ceasefire deal due to significant gaps between Israel and Hamas demands. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that there were multiple red lines he refused to negotiate or compromise on. Similarly, a senior official of Hamas called Biden's optimism towards both parties moving closer to a ceasefire agreement was "an illusion" and that they were "not facing a deal or real negotiations, but rather the imposing of American diktats." [1]

Attacks

An IDF air raid targeted a family home and a warehouse next to it that was being used as a shelter for displaced people near the entrance of the town of az-Zawayda in the Deir el-Balah Governorate. Eyewitness Ahmed Abu al-Ghoul reported that three rockets targeted the buildings, and that they made direct strikes on the structures. [2] The airstrike killed fifteen members of the family of Sami Jawad al-Ejlah, a seller of goods to retailers who worked with Israel troops to distribute food across the Gaza Strip to provide aid during the humanitarian crisis. [3] One of the surviving relatives stated that "They were all dismembered. There wasn’t a single complete body." [1] The bodies of the victims were taken to the Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital. A list created by the hospital reported that in addition to Sami, his two wives, eleven of their children aged from two to twenty-two, the grandmother of the children, and three separate relatives were killed in the airstrike. [3]

A family in the Nuseirat refugee camp was struck by Israeli Navy boats firing on a residential tower, killing at least seven members. [1] [4]

The IDF shelled a home in the al-Hakr area killing or wounding several citizens. [1]

Responses

The Israeli Defense Forces stated that they had targeted "terrorist infrastructure" in Deir el-Balah following the launching of rockets from the area. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuseirat refugee camp</span> Refugee camp in Deir al-Balah, State of Palestine

Nuseirat is a Palestinian refugee camp located in the middle of the Gaza Strip, five kilometers north-east of Deir al-Balah. The refugee camp is in the Deir al-Balah Governorate, Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the refugee camp had a population of 31,747 and the surrounding Nuseirat municipality had a population of 54,851 in 2017. The camp was established after the 1948 Palestinian expulsion during the 1948 Palestine war.

Az-Zawayda, also spelled Zawaida, is a Palestinian town in the Gaza Strip, in the Deir al-Balah Governorate of the State of Palestine. It is located about three kilometers northeast of the city of Deir al-Balah and just west of Maghazi refugee camp. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) 2017 census, there were 23,841 residents.

Since the outbreak of the Israel–Hamas war on 7 October 2023, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has conducted numerous airstrikes in densely populated Palestinian refugee camps in both the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Al-Maghazi refugee camp was struck several times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Refugee camp airstrikes in the Israel–Hamas war</span> Airstrikes in the Gaza Strip and West Bank

In the Israel–Hamas war, as part of the bombing and invasion of Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has conducted numerous airstrikes in densely populated Palestinian refugee camps in both the Gaza Strip and West Bank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attacks on schools during the Israeli invasion of Gaza</span> 2023 airstrikes on educational facilities in the Gaza Strip

Since the outbreak of the Israel–Hamas war on 7 October 2023, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has conducted numerous airstrikes on more than 200 educational facilities, including universities, in the Gaza Strip. The IDF states such airstrikes are the result of the placement of military infrastructure and rocket launching from civilian areas, including schools. By late March 2024, the United Nations recorded more than 200 Israeli attacks on schools in Gaza, with at least 53 schools totally destroyed. By July 2024, all 19 Gaza universities had suffered severe damage with 80% of university buildings destroyed, 103 academics killed, and 90,000 students enrolled in higher education no longer able to pursue their studies. In June 2024, UNOCHA stated 76 percent of Gaza's schools required "full reconstruction or major rehabilitation", and in August 2024, UNICEF stated 564, or 85 percent, of all schools in Gaza had been hit by Israeli attacks.

Events in the year 2024 in Palestine.

The following is a list of events during the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in 2024, including the events of the Israel–Hamas war.

On 8 June 2024, the Israeli military killed at least 276 people and injured over 698, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and Palestinian health officials, during a hostage rescue operation in the UNRWA Nuseirat refugee camp. The operation's objective was to free multiple hostages taken during the 7 October attack on Israel. The Israeli military acknowledged fewer than 100 Palestinian deaths.

The 9 July 2024 Gaza attacks refer to a series of coordinated attacks by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza City and Deir al-Balah, resulting in the deaths of at least 50 Palestinians and injury of at least 80 more as reported by the Gaza Health Ministry.

On 4 August 2024, the Israel Defense Forces bombed Hamama School in the Gaza neighborhood of Sheikh Radwan. The school had been sheltering people displaced by the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, including women and children. Per Gaza's Civil Defense, 17 people were killed and "many others" were wounded, while the school itself was "completely destroyed". The attack was one of a number of attacks on schools during the Israeli invasion of Gaza. The Israeli army stated that the school was being used by Hamas. Hamas criticized this claim as a false pretext "for targeting defenseless civilians". The Palestinian Resistance Movement called the attack a continuation of Israel's "brutal war of extermination" in Gaza.

On 11 September 2024, the Israel Defense Forces bombed the UN-run Al-Jawni school in the Nuseirat refugee camp of central Gaza. The school had been sheltering people displaced by the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, including women and children. Per rescuers, 18 people were killed and more than 44 others were wounded. Among the killed were six United Nations workers, including the manager of the UNRWA shelter. This made it the highest death toll for UN staff in any single incident of the Israel–Hamas War and raising the number of UNRWA staff killed since the beginning of the war to 220. The attack was one of a number of attacks on schools during the Israeli invasion of Gaza and the fifth bombing of the Al-Jawni School since October 2023.

On 6 October 2024, the Israel Defense Forces bombed the Shuhada al-Aqsa mosque and the nearby Ibn Rushd school in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. The airstrike killed at least 26 Palestinians and wounded more than 93 others. The mosque and school had been sheltering people displaced by the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, including women and children.

On 12 December 2024, the Israeli Air Force conducted an airstrike on a residential block in the Nuseirat refugee camp in Deir al-Balah Governorate which resulted in at least 33 civilian deaths and approximately 50 injuries. The airstrike targeted a postal facility being used as a civilian shelter, and caused significant damage to adjacent residential buildings.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Siddiqui, Usaid. "Israel-Palestine conflict | Live updates | Today's latest from Al Jazeera". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  2. "Israeli strike kills 15 of one family in Gaza". Gulf Times. 2024-08-17. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  3. 1 2 3 "An Israeli airstrike kills 18 members of a family in Gaza as mediators hope for a cease-fire". AP News. 2024-08-17. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  4. "316 Day of aggression: Large numbers of martyrs & injured by Zionist enemy's bombing various areas in Gaza Strip". www.saba.ye. 2024-08-17. Retrieved 2024-08-17.