An Israeli airstrike launched near a bustling market in Gaza City on Wednesday resulted in the deaths of almost two dozen Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense rescue service.
The Civil Defense detailed that among the at least 22 fatalities were six women and nine children. The attack reportedly struck a warehouse near Firas Market on the eastern side of the city, where these individuals were seeking refuge. The Wafa news agency, affiliated with the Palestinian Authority in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, corroborated that all those killed were seeking shelter in a warehouse that was hit by the strike.
In response, the Israeli military released a statement asserting that its strike had targeted and hit “two Hamas terrorists in the northern Gaza Strip,” offering no further specific details regarding their identities. The military also stated that the number of casualties reported by local sources “does not align with the information” it had obtained, though it did not provide its own casualty estimate.
This incident occurs amid Israel’s ongoing ground invasion of Gaza City, which began last week. The stated objective is to eliminate the Palestinian militant group Hamas from one of its final strongholds. The conflict in Gaza was ignited by the Oct. 7, 2023, attack led by Hamas against Israel. Israeli military operations in Gaza consistently claim to target militants and their operational infrastructure, such as weapon caches and tunnels, acknowledging that these targets are often situated within civilian-populated areas.
The ground invasion has intensified international scrutiny and pressure on Israel, particularly as Gaza City represents the territory’s largest urban center. This military offensive has already caused hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom had already been displaced multiple times during the war, to flee once more, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis across the entire Gaza Strip.
Adding to the diplomatic strain, nearly a dozen countries have recently formally recognized a Palestinian state, a move that has drawn strong disapproval from Israeli officials.
Prior to the ground invasion of Gaza City, the Israeli military had issued evacuation orders for the entire population—hundreds of thousands of residents—directing them towards a designated humanitarian zone in southern Gaza.
Despite these orders, a significant number of civilians remained in the city. Reasons varied, with some unable to afford relocation and others expressing deep skepticism about the safety of any supposed refuge within Gaza.
Beyond the warehouse incident, Wafa also reported five additional fatalities in other areas of Gaza City on Wednesday, including four women and one man.
The Civil Defense further stated that four bodies were recovered from the debris of a building that had been hit by another strike in Nuseirat, located approximately seven miles south of Gaza City. The Israeli military has not yet commented on this specific incident in Nuseirat.
Nedal Abu Sherbi, a 37-year-old resident and freelance journalist in Gaza City, explained his decision to stay. He stated he couldn’t afford to leave and, even if he could, the thought of fleeing again was unbearable. He had previously sought shelter in the south during the war but described it as “a very humiliating experience.”
“If I am going to suffer anyway, then I am staying here,” Mr. Abu Sherbi remarked. His home has since been destroyed, and he now shelters in a school in Rimal, an area that was once an affluent neighborhood.
He noted that while Israeli troops appeared to be “in full control” of many neighborhoods, his immediate vicinity was an exception. However, he stressed the difficulty of moving more than a few blocks from his shelter due to the constant threat. “Things in Rimal are relatively better than in other areas, but strikes still take place all the time,” he added. “We cannot sleep through the night because of the constant strikes.”
Before the evacuation order, the United Nations estimated that nearly one million people, roughly half of Gaza’s total population, resided in Gaza City. Israeli officials have since reported that approximately 640,000 people have departed the city following these directives.
In recent months, Israel has caused extensive destruction across large sections of the city. Even before the ground offensive commenced last week, the Israeli military asserted control over 40 percent of Gaza City, primarily its eastern districts.
A New York Times analysis of satellite imagery reveals the severity of this destruction, with some areas entirely decimated. For instance, the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City was transformed into a barren wasteland over several weeks in August, with most of its buildings destroyed.
Recent reports have highlighted the escalating crisis: a U.N.-backed panel of food experts has declared a famine in Gaza City, and a U.N. commission investigating the conflict has accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in the region. Israel vehemently denies both accusations.
Reporting by Liam Stack from Tel Aviv. Abu Bakr Bashir contributed reporting.