Israeli drone strike on Gaza funeral kills 8 mourners
Photo: REUTERS
Israeli forces launched multiple attacks across the Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of at least 14 Palestinians.
More than half of these fatalities occurred when an Israeli drone targeted a funeral procession. Gaza’s civil defense agency and a hospital reported that eight people died on Friday when an Israeli strike hit a crowd of civilians in the Al-Balata market area of the Nuseirat refugee camp.
Al-Awda Hospital confirmed that the attack injured at least 20 others.
Witnesses said the drone struck Palestinian mourners as they gathered outside the Ahmad Yassin Mosque. They were waiting to begin a funeral for a Palestinian killed in a separate attack earlier that day in the same vicinity.
Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud from Gaza City, said, “There is no regard for the ceasefire. The people who were participating in the [funeral] procession were coming out of the mosque [when] a drone strike targeted a group of people within the procession itself.”
According to the AFP news agency, the Israeli military confirmed the strike. The army claimed it hit a “terrorist” cell in central Gaza, but noted it was “aware of the claims that several uninvolved individuals were harmed as a result of the strike. The results of the strike are under review.”
Hamas condemned the attack in an official statement. The group declared, “This heinous crime takes place while the aggressor regime, through its systematic and continuous violation of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, continues to kill and terrorise innocent citizens in front of the eyes of mediators and the international community.”
Earlier on Friday, an Israeli drone dropped a bomb near the Abu Tammam School in the northern city of Beit Lahia, killing a 52-year-old woman, according to the Wafa news agency.
Another Israeli attack in the town of Az-Zawayda killed one person and injured several others among a gathering of Palestinians. In al-Sawarha, west of the Nuseirat refugee camp, Israeli fire struck a structure housing displaced persons, resulting in one death.
In Gaza City, an Israeli drone hit an apartment, killing one Palestinian and wounding several others, including children. Additionally, a woman died from wounds sustained during Israeli gunfire southwest of Khan Younis. While a nominal ceasefire took effect last October, Israel has regularly continued its attacks across Gaza.
The research group ACLED (Armed Conflict Location & Event Data) reported that Israeli attacks on the enclave have increased since May. ACLED identified more than 40 strikes last month, marking the highest monthly total since the ceasefire began. Hani Mahmoud noted, “The skies above the Gaza Strip are filled with drones.”
He added, “You can hear the mechanical hum of these drones everywhere … In addition to the ongoing [Israeli] destruction of remaining infrastructure.”
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Friday that Israel has killed 274 children - averaging one child per day - since the ceasefire started, describing the killings as “a matter of routine”.
Source: Al Jazeera (adapted)
