In a retaliatory air strike, Israel killed innocent children queuing at Gaza Health Centre

An Israeli air strike killed 15 people standing outside a United States managed health centre in central Gaza on Thursday, according to medical staff and officials in the enclave. Eight of those killed were children; the youngest was 2 years old and the oldest was 14. All were waiting to receive treatment for malnutrition, infections and other illnesses at a clinic run by an American aid group when the attack occurred.

“What has happened is indescribable. It’s a massacre. It’s genocide. It’s a crime against children”, said Nidal Al-Nouri, who lost his daughter and a nephew in the attack.

The Israel Defence Forces said the strike was targeting a Hamas militant who took part in the October 7, 2023, attacks — and that the incident is under review. “The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to minimize harm as much as possible”, the Israeli military said in a statement.

Israel has intensified its strikes and expanded a ground operation on parts of Gaza as negotiators in Doha continue talks to release hostages, establish a temporary truce and allow the entry of more humanitarian aid to the devastated strip. Almost 3,000 Palestinians were killed over the past month in Gaza, according to the enclave’s health ministry.

Meanwhile, Hamas have continued conducting guerrilla-style attacks against the Israeli military, killing more than 20 soldiers in different parts of the strip over the same period, including five soldiers killed this week in the northern city of Beit Hanoun. On Thursday, a 20-year-old Israeli man was killed in an attack at the Gush Etzion junction south of Jerusalem, according to the Israeli military and medical services.

The IDF said two Palestinian “terrorists” had “conducted a combined shooting and stabbing attack” before being “eliminated.” Gush Etzion is a settlement cluster in the occupied West Bank. A security source later told Reporters that the two attackers were Palestinian Authority policemen with no prior records in Israel or prior arrests.

Team Maverick