August 2024 Deir el-Balah attacks | |
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Part of the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip during the Israel–Hamas war | |
Location | Az-Zawayda and Nuseirat refugee camp, Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip |
Date | 17 August 2024 |
Attack type | Airstrikes and naval strikes |
Deaths | 34+ Palestinians [1] |
Injured | Multiple [1] |
Perpetrator | ![]() |
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]
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]
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]
The Israeli Defense Forces stated that they had targeted "terrorist infrastructure" in Deir el-Balah following the launching of rockets from the area. [3]
Maghazi is a Palestinian refugee camp located in the Deir al-Balah Governorate in the central Gaza Strip. It was established in 1949. The camp is built on 559 dunums (0.6 km2). In July 2023, the UNRWA reported its population to be 33,000. During the first months of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, its population tripled and faced repeated airstrikes by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
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.
The Gaza–Israel clashes code-named by Israel as Operation Black Belt, took place between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) following the targeted killing of senior PIJ commander Baha Abu al-Ata in Gaza, and the attempted killing of senior PIJ commander Akram al-Ajouri in Damascus, Syria by the IDF. PIJ responded with rocket fire into Israel, including long-range rockets fired towards Tel Aviv, leading to several civilians being wounded. In response to the rocket fire, Israel carried out airstrikes and artillery shelling in the Gaza Strip, killing and wounding several militants as well as civilians.
The siege of Gaza City began on 2 November 2023, when the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) surrounded Gaza City, amid the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, which was a counterattack to the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. Gaza City is the most populated city in the Gaza Strip and the battle started on 30 October 2023, when Israel and Hamas clashed in Gaza City. According to Oxfam, there are about 500,000 Palestinians, along with 200 Israelis and other captives, were trapped in a "siege within a siege" in northern Gaza.
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.
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.
Events of the year 2024 in Israel.
Events in 2024 in the Palestinian territories.
The following is a list of events during the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in 2024, including the 2024 events of the Israel–Hamas war.
The Nuseirat rescue operation was a rescue operation carried out by Yamam, the Shin Bet and Israel Defense Forces with intelligence support from the United States in the Nuseirat refugee camp on 8 June 2024 to recover hostages taken from the Nova music festival during the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel.
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.
The Khadija School airstrike by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) occurred on 26 July 2024 during the Israel–Hamas war in the central region of Gaza, specifically in Deir al-Balah. The airstrike killed at least 30 individuals, including seven minors. The Gaza Health Ministry run by Hamas reported an additional 100 casualties. The victims, who had sought shelter at the school, were transported to Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital for medical attention.