JERUSALEM (AP) – Hospital authorities report that an Israeli airstrike on a family residence in central Gaza resulted in the deaths of 22 individuals, including nine women and children.
Officials from Al Aqsa Martas Hospital in the nearby town of Deia Al Bala stated that the strike hit a family home in Breige, an urban refugee camp in central Gaza. An AP journalist reviewed hospital records confirming the fatalities.
There has been no immediate response from the Israeli military.
This is a news update. Previous reports from the AP include:
Jerusalem (AP) –
On Thursday, Israel announced plans to establish 22 new Jewish settlements. The occupied West Bank plans also include the legalization of previously constructed outposts that lacked government authorization. Additionally, Israeli forces reportedly killed 13 individuals in the Gaza Strip overnight, according to local health officials.
Israel took control of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War, with Palestinians aspiring to utilize all three territories for their future state. The majority of the international community believes that the settlements are illegal and see them as obstacles to resolving long-standing conflicts.
Israeli Defense Minister Katz remarked that the decision to reconcile “reinforces our acceptance of Judea and Samaria,” employing biblical references pertaining to the West Bank. He added that it “affirms our historical claims to Israeli lands and serves as a strong response to Palestinian terrorism.”
Katz further stated that the settlement expansion represents a “strategic maneuver that would impede the establishment of a Palestinian state, which poses a risk to Israel.”
Watchdog Group Claims Largest Expansion Since Oslo
Israel’s anti-settlement watchdog organization has asserted that this is the most extensive expansion since the 1993 Oslo Accords initiated the faltering peace process. The settlement, situated deep within the territory, could “dramatically reshape the West Bank and further entrench the occupation.”
To date, Israel has constructed over 100 settlements across the region, with roughly half a million settlers residing there. The settlements vary from small outposts on hilltops to fully developed towns featuring apartment complexes, shopping centers, factories, and parks.
Approximately 3 million Palestinians inhabit the West Bank and are subjected to Israeli military control, accompanied by Palestinian authorities managing the civilian population. Settlers hold Israeli citizenship.
Peace groups indicate that the development plan includes the approval of 12 existing outposts, the construction of nine new settlements, and the reclassification of existing neighborhood areas as independent settlements.
“The government has clearly indicated its preference for intensifying occupation and advancing de facto annexation in the pursuit of peace.”
The Settlement Expands Despite Minimal US Pushback
In recent years, Israel has accelerated settlement construction. The October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas initiated the war in Gaza and captured Palestinians in smaller areas of the West Bank, heightening the prospects for establishing more remote, self-sufficient states.
During his initial term, the Trump Administration fundamentally altered decades of US foreign policy supporting Israel’s claims to territorially seized land and legitimizing the settlements. Former President Biden, like many predecessors, opposed the settlements but applied limited pressure on Israel regarding their expansion.
The United Nations’ highest court ruled last year that Israel’s presence in occupied Palestinian territory is illegal and called for its termination, alongside a cessation of settlement construction.
Israel dismissed the advisory ruling from a 15-judge panel at the International Court of Justice, asserting that the territory is part of the historic Jewish homeland.
Searching for a War-Torn Village in Gaza
In 2005, Israel withdrew its settlements from the Gaza Strip; however, key figures in the current government advocate for their re-establishment and relocation in other areas, a process viewed by many Palestinians as involuntary migration.
Palestinians perceive such proposals as a blueprint for forced displacement from their homeland, and experts assert that these plans likely violate international law.
Currently, Israel governs over 70% of Gaza, according to Yakov Ghab, an environmental researcher at Ben Gurion University, who has studied land use trends among Israelis and Palestinians for decades.
This expanse includes the Buffer Zone along the Israeli border and the city of Rafa to the south, which is largely uninhabited due to evacuations mandated by Israel.
One Night’s Strike Kills 13
The conflict erupted following Hamas’ assault on October 7, where extremists infiltrated Israel, resulting in approximately 1,200 casualties, predominantly civilians. About 251 individuals were taken hostage, with the Israeli army managing to rescue eight and recover several bodies.
In response to the Hamas attacks, Israeli reprisals have claimed the lives of over 54,000 Palestinians, with many being women and children, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
Local hospital reports indicate that an Israeli airstrike killed at least 13 Palestinians in Gaza overnight.
Four were killed in a car strike in Gaza City late Wednesday, while eight others perished in a strike at a home in Jabariya, which included two women and three children. Additionally, a strike at a central Gaza refugee camp resulted in one death and 18 injuries.
There has been no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Israeli forces maintain that their operations target extremists and attribute civilian casualties to Hamas’ tactics of embedding within the population.
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Meltzer reported from Naharia, Israel. Associated Press contributors Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut and Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv assisted with this report.
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Source: apnews.com