At least 25 dead and ‘torn bodies’ after Israeli airstrike in Jabaliya, northern Gaza Strip
An Israeli army airstrike hit a house in the early hours of Sunday morning in the northern Gaza Strip, leaving behind bodies. “irregular”according to one of the only relatives still alive told Agence France-Presse (AFP). According to the Palestinian Civil Defense, 13 children died in this attack on a family home, which left at least 25 dead in Jabaliya, one of the most densely populated areas of the Palestinian territory.
The building was completely razed and transformed into a shapeless pile of stones, an AFP correspondent at the scene confirmed. The attack occurred around 6 in the morning (5 in the morning, in Paris) “at a time when people here wake up and have breakfast”a family member testified. “There was a huge explosion to the point that, when we arrived, all the bodies were in pieces.”he added.
For its part, the Israeli army claimed that it had attacked a site in an area of Jabaliya “where the terrorists operated”representative “a threat” for his troops. “Prior to the attack, numerous measures were taken to limit the risk of harming civilians.”a military spokesman told AFP. According to a relative interviewed by AFP, people who were protecting themselves from the bombings lived in the house.
Wrapped in white shrouds stained with blood, the bodies of the victims were transported aboard a van to be buried in a Jabaliya cemetery. Hamas condemned the “massacre” of Jabaliya in a statement, stating that the house attacked “It was filled with more than 50 innocent civilians”. The majority were children and women, including people “who had been forcibly displaced by the occupation of the Jabaliya refugee camp”according to the Palestinian nationalist movement.
