Israeli strikes kill at least 12 Palestinians Gaza They are mainly women and children, officials said Wednesday, as the nearly 15-month conflict enters the new year.
A strike hit a house in the Jabaliya region of northern Gaza, the most isolated and destroyed part of the territory, where Israel has been carrying out a major operation since the beginning of October. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said seven people were killed, including a woman and four children, and at least a dozen others were injured.
Another overnight strike in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza killed a woman and a child, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which received the bodies.
“Are you partying?” Enjoy it while we die. For a year and a half, we have been dying,” said a man carrying the body of a child in the flashing lights of emergency vehicles.
The Israeli military said militants fired rockets into Israel from the Bureij area overnight and its forces responded with a strike targeting a militant. The army also issued evacuation orders for the area.
A third strike in the southern town of Khan Younis killed three people, according to the Nasser Hospital and the European Hospital, which received the bodies.
The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and kidnapping around 250. Around 100 hostages remain held in Gaza, at least a third of them would have died.
Israel’s air and ground offensive has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. It says women and children account for more than half of the deaths, but does not say how many of those killed were militants.
The Israeli military says it only targets militants and accuses Hamas of being responsible for civilian deaths because its fighters operate in dense residential areas. The army claims to have killed 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
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The conflict has caused widespread destruction and displaced around 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, many of them multiple times.
Hundreds of thousands of people live in tents on the coast as winter brings frequent rainstorms and temperatures dip below 10 degrees Celsius (50 F) at night. At least six infants and one other person died of hypothermia, according to the Health Ministry.
Many displaced Palestinians in central Gaza rely on charity kitchens as their sole food provider, amid restrictions on aid and skyrocketing prices. AP footage showed a long line of children waiting for rice, the only dish served Wednesday in the Deir al-Balah kitchen.
“Some of these kitchens are closing because they are not receiving aid, and others are distributing small amounts of food and it is not enough,” said Umm Adham Shaheen, displaced from Gaza City.
U.S. and Arab mediators spent nearly a year trying to negotiate a ceasefire and the release of the hostages, but their efforts repeatedly failed. Hamas demanded a lasting truce, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayhu promised to continue the fight until “total victory”.
Israel sees net outflow of citizens for a second year
More than 82,000 Israelis moved abroad in 2024 and 33,000 people immigrated to the country, the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics said. Another 23,000 Israelis returned after long stays abroad.
It was the second consecutive year of net departures, a rare occurrence in the history of a country that actively encourages Jewish immigration. Many Israelis, seeking to escape the war, have moved abroad, raising concerns about the possibility of a “brain drain” in sectors like medicine and technology.
Last year, 15,000 fewer people immigrated to Israel than in 2023.
Army attributes archaeologist’s death to ‘weakening of discipline’
In another development, the Israeli military blamed “operational exhaustion” and a “weakening of discipline and security” for the killing of a 70-year-old archaeologist in southern Lebanon in November, as well as a soldier while visiting a combat zone.
According to Israeli media, Zeev Erlich was not on active duty but wore a military uniform and owned a weapon. The Army said he was a reservist and identified him as a “fallen soldier” when it announced his death.
Erlich was a well-known West Bank settler and researcher of Jewish history. According to media reports, he entered Lebanon to explore an archaeological site.
The army opened an investigation after the two men were killed in a Hezbollah ambush. A separate investigation is examining who allowed Erlich entry. The family of the soldier who was killed with him expressed their anger at the circumstances.
The military has said the entry of civilians who are neither military contractors nor journalists into combat zones is not widespread. However, there are numerous reports of Israeli civilians in favor of a permanent Israeli presence in Gaza or Lebanon entering these areas.
© 2025 The Canadian Press