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Israeli strikes across Gaza hit multiple homes, killing at least 85 Palestinians

Israeli strikes across Gaza hit multiple homes, killing at least 85 Palestinians
For decades, Palestinian shepherds have faced threats and violence at the hands of Israeli settlers. Dozens of rural farms like this one have already been abandoned as *** result, but such violence is only increasing. This is just one of several incidents documented by Israeli NGO Bitselem over recent months. The organization says dozens of settlers descended on the occupied West Bank village of El Mania in mid February, attacking homes, farming equipment, and even residents. While Israeli police forces demolished the outpost established in the village by settlers, but Selem says the outpost was later rebuilt that same day. Dozens of Palestinian herding communities have been impacted by the spread of outposts like this one, essentially undefined settlements, usually made up of small structures or caravans. Israeli anti-settlement watchdogs Peace Now and Kerem Navot say at least 49 outposts were established in the months following the October 7th attacks, an increase of nearly 50% since the beginning of the war in Gaza. As of last December, the groups estimate that herding outposts covered almost 14% of the occupied West Bank. That's an area of land roughly twice the size of Gaza. And that's in addition to approximately 150 officially recognized settlements that have already been established in the West Bank. Both outposts and settlements are considered illegal under international law. Satellite imagery analyzed by CNN shows how rapidly herding outposts have spread, as well as the gradual development of new roads connecting the outposts to established settlements, and in some cases cutting Palestinians off from the land that they depend on. In the northern village of El Fari, the local farming community has now been almost entirely depopulated. Back in February, we met the Derama family. At the time, still desperately clinging on to their land. These hills are full of areas for our animals to feed, but now there are settlers over here, over there, and another one over there. We can't access these areas, Ahmed says. The settlers come to scare our sheep and frighten our children. We've had to stop going up on the hills with our sheep, fearing they will come after us. Ahmed's family says they have lived here for generations, the land not only their home but also their livelihood. We've always lived here, Hussein says. Our whole lives are here. Where else can we go? Since filming, members of the Drama family told CNN they were left with no choice but to abandon their homes. Acts of violence by settlers from nearby outposts simply too much to bear. Activists say outposts like those around the village of Al Faria are established with the purpose of laying claim to Palestinian land and pressuring Palestinian communities to flee. Through threats, physical violence, and direct attacks on resources, including livestock and farming equipment, often with the protection from both the military and the state. CNN has reached out to the Israeli government about allegations of its support for illegal outposts but has not received *** response. The Israeli military told CNN that it condemns violence in any form and that police are tasked with handling any Israeli violations of the law. When asked about new roads we saw being developed around another nearby village, the IDF said the land had been seized for operational needs, adding that the route is intended for use by security forces and that it has been developed in accordance with military orders. It's important to understand that this projecting out campaign or this project is *** national project, *** state project. This is not *** project which is initiated by. Individuals, it's *** project which the state of Israel is standing behind it. It's budgeting, it's facilitating, it's protecting it. The Ministry of Settlements, for example, has budgeted for outposts which it calls young settlements, previously saying funds were carried out in accordance with all laws. But the displacement of Palestinian herding communities is just one part of *** deepening crisis in the West Bank. The UN says more than 40,000 Palestinians have been forced from their homes since February by an expanding Israeli military operation, with Israel's defense minister calling on the military to prevent the return of those displaced, stoking fears around the potential for *** full annexation of the territory and crushing hopes for *** pathway to *** viable Palestinian state. Nada Bashir, CNN in the occupied West Bank.
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Israeli strikes across Gaza hit multiple homes, killing at least 85 Palestinians
Israeli strikes killed at least 85 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip overnight and into Thursday, according to local health officials. The strikes hit multiple homes in the middle of the night, killing men, women and children as they slept.The Israeli military said it struck militant targets. Later that day, it said that "projectiles" fired from Gaza set off air raids sirens in central Israel. It appeared to be the first rocket attack out of Gaza since Israel ended the ceasefire with a surprise bombardment of the territory early Tuesday.The Israeli military also restored a blockade on northern Gaza, including Gaza City, that it had maintained for most of the war. It warned residents against using the main highway to enter or leave the north and said only passage to the south would be allowed on the coastal road.It also announced an additional ground operation in northern Gaza near the already largely destroyed town of Beit Lahiya, where strikes have killed dozens over the past 24 hours.Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians returned to what remains of their homes in the north after a ceasefire took hold in January. Israel resumed heavy strikes across Gaza on Tuesday, shattering the ceasefire that had facilitated the release of more than two dozen hostages. Israel blamed the renewed fighting on Hamas because the militant group rejected a new proposal that departed from their signed agreement.The Trump administration, which took credit for helping to broker the ceasefire, has voiced full support for Israel. More than 400 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday alone, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.The Israeli military said it intercepted a missile launched by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels early Thursday before it reached Israeli airspace, as air raid sirens and exploding interceptors were heard in Jerusalem. No injuries were reported. It was the second such attack since the United States began a new campaign of airstrikes against the rebels earlier this week.One of the strikes on Gaza early Thursday hit the Abu Daqa family’s home in Abasan al-Kabira, a village just outside of Khan Younis near the border with Israel. It was inside an area the Israeli military ordered evacuated earlier this week, encompassing most of eastern Gaza.The strike killed at least 16 people, mostly women and children, according to the nearby European Hospital, which received the dead. Those killed included a father and his seven children, as well as the parents and brother of a month-old baby who survived along with her grandparents.“Another tough night,” said Hani Awad, who was helping rescuers search for more survivors in the rubble. “The house collapsed over the people’s heads.”The Israeli military said it had struck dozens of militant targets across Gaza, hitting dozens of fighters as well as military structures.Israeli ground troops advanceOn Wednesday, Israeli ground troops advanced in Gaza for the first time since the ceasefire took hold in January, seizing part of a corridor separating the northern third of the territory from the south. The announcement about passage to the south indicated troops will soon retake full control over what is known as the Netzarim corridor, stretching from the border to the Mediterranean Sea.Israel, which has also cut off the supply of food, fuel and humanitarian aid to Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians, has vowed to intensify its operations until Hamas releases the 59 hostages it holds — 35 of whom are believed dead — and gives up control of the territory. The Trump administration, which took credit for brokering the ceasefire, says it fully supports Israel.Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, as called for in the ceasefire agreement they reached in January after more than a year of mediation by the United States, Egypt and Qatar.Hamas, which does not accept Israel's existence, says it is willing to hand over power to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority or a committee of political independents but will not lay down its arms until Israel ends its decades-long occupation of lands the Palestinians want for a future state.A ‘bloody night’ for hard-hit northern townGaza’s Health Ministry said the overnight strikes killed at least 85 people, mostly women and children. Zaher al-Waheidi, the official in charge of records for the ministry, said a total of 592 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since Tuesday.The Indonesian Hospital said it had received 19 bodies after strikes in Beit Lahiya, near the border.“It was a bloody night for the people of Beit Lahiya,” said Fares Awad, head of the Health Ministry’s emergency service in northern Gaza, adding that rescuers were still searching the rubble from homes that were hit. “The situation is catastrophic.”Beit Lahiya was heavily destroyed and largely depopulated during the first phase of the war before January’s ceasefire. On Wednesday, an Israeli strike on a gathering of mourners killed 17 people there, according to health officials.No end in sight to the 17-month warThe war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. Most of the hostages have been freed in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight living hostages and recovered the bodies of dozens more.Israel's retaliatory offensive, among the deadliest and most destructive in recent history, has killed nearly 49,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. It does not say how many were militants, but says more than half of those killed were women and children. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.The war at its height displaced around 90% of Gaza's population and has caused vast destruction across the territory. Hundreds of thousands of people returned to their homes during the ceasefire, but many found only fields of rubble and the bombed-out shells of buildings.___Magdy reported from Cairo.

Israeli strikes killed at least 85 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip overnight and into Thursday, according to local health officials. The strikes hit multiple homes in the middle of the night, killing men, women and children as they slept.

The Israeli military said it struck militant targets. Later that day, it said that "projectiles" fired from Gaza set off air raids sirens in central Israel. It appeared to be the first rocket attack out of Gaza since Israel ended the ceasefire with a surprise bombardment of the territory early Tuesday.

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The Israeli military also restored a blockade on northern Gaza, including Gaza City, that it had maintained for most of the war. It warned residents against using the main highway to enter or leave the north and said only passage to the south would be allowed on the coastal road.

It also announced an additional ground operation in northern Gaza near the already largely destroyed town of Beit Lahiya, where strikes have killed dozens over the past 24 hours.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians returned to what remains of their homes in the north after a ceasefire took hold in January. Israel resumed heavy strikes across Gaza on Tuesday, shattering the ceasefire that had facilitated the release of more than two dozen hostages. Israel blamed the renewed fighting on Hamas because the militant group rejected a new proposal that departed from their signed agreement.

The Trump administration, which took credit for helping to broker the ceasefire, has voiced full support for Israel. More than 400 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday alone, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

The Israeli military said it intercepted a missile launched by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels early Thursday before it reached Israeli airspace, as air raid sirens and exploding interceptors were heard in Jerusalem. No injuries were reported. It was the second such attack since the United States began a new campaign of airstrikes against the rebels earlier this week.

One of the strikes on Gaza early Thursday hit the Abu Daqa family’s home in Abasan al-Kabira, a village just outside of Khan Younis near the border with Israel. It was inside an area the Israeli military ordered evacuated earlier this week, encompassing most of eastern Gaza.

The strike killed at least 16 people, mostly women and children, according to the nearby European Hospital, which received the dead. Those killed included a father and his seven children, as well as the parents and brother of a month-old baby who survived along with her grandparents.

“Another tough night,” said Hani Awad, who was helping rescuers search for more survivors in the rubble. “The house collapsed over the people’s heads.”

The Israeli military said it had struck dozens of militant targets across Gaza, hitting dozens of fighters as well as military structures.

Israeli ground troops advance

On Wednesday, Israeli ground troops advanced in Gaza for the first time since the ceasefire took hold in January, seizing part of a corridor separating the northern third of the territory from the south. The announcement about passage to the south indicated troops will soon retake full control over what is known as the Netzarim corridor, stretching from the border to the Mediterranean Sea.

Israel, which has also cut off the supply of food, fuel and humanitarian aid to Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians, has vowed to intensify its operations until Hamas releases the 59 hostages it holds — 35 of whom are believed dead — and gives up control of the territory. The Trump administration, which took credit for brokering the ceasefire, says it fully supports Israel.

Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, as called for in the ceasefire agreement they reached in January after more than a year of mediation by the United States, Egypt and Qatar.

Hamas, which does not accept Israel's existence, says it is willing to hand over power to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority or a committee of political independents but will not lay down its arms until Israel ends its decades-long occupation of lands the Palestinians want for a future state.

A ‘bloody night’ for hard-hit northern town

Gaza’s Health Ministry said the overnight strikes killed at least 85 people, mostly women and children. Zaher al-Waheidi, the official in charge of records for the ministry, said a total of 592 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since Tuesday.

The Indonesian Hospital said it had received 19 bodies after strikes in Beit Lahiya, near the border.

“It was a bloody night for the people of Beit Lahiya,” said Fares Awad, head of the Health Ministry’s emergency service in northern Gaza, adding that rescuers were still searching the rubble from homes that were hit. “The situation is catastrophic.”

Beit Lahiya was heavily destroyed and largely depopulated during the first phase of the war before January’s ceasefire. On Wednesday, an Israeli strike on a gathering of mourners killed 17 people there, according to health officials.

No end in sight to the 17-month war

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. Most of the hostages have been freed in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight living hostages and recovered the bodies of dozens more.

Israel's retaliatory offensive, among the deadliest and most destructive in recent history, has killed nearly 49,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. It does not say how many were militants, but says more than half of those killed were women and children. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.

The war at its height displaced around 90% of Gaza's population and has caused vast destruction across the territory. Hundreds of thousands of people returned to their homes during the ceasefire, but many found only fields of rubble and the bombed-out shells of buildings.

___

Magdy reported from Cairo.