Israeli strikes kill 14 in Gaza City, health officials say
Global News
14 people have been killed from Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City, according to local health officials, as some countries prepare to recognize Palestinian statehood.
Scores of Palestinians, many pushing carts of belongings or carrying their possessions on their backs, fled Gaza City on Saturday as Israel ramped up its offensive, including with strikes that health officials said killed at least 14 people overnight.
Later in Israel, thousands joined the families of hostages still being held by Hamas to demand that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu negotiate an end to the war.
There were protests in in Jerusalem and in Tel Aviv, where a large black banner was unfurled imploring U.S. President Donald Trump to help end the war, with “SAVE THEM!” in yellow letters .
The latest military strikes come as some prominent Western countries prepare to recognize Palestinian statehood at the gathering of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly next week. They include the U.K., France, Canada, Australia, Malta, Belgium and Luxembourg.
In a statement Friday, Portugal’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said it will recognize a Palestinian state on Sunday. The Iberian country had previously announced its plans to do so but now set an official date.
The latest Israeli operation, which began this week, further escalates a conflict that has roiled the Middle East and likely pushes any ceasefire further out of reach. The Israeli military, which says it wants to “destroy Hamas’ military infrastructure” and urged Palestinians to leave, hasn’t given a timeline for the offensive, but there were indications it could take months.
Israeli bombardment over the past 23 months has killed more than 65,000 people in Gaza, destroyed vast areas of the strip, displaced around 90 per cent of the population and caused a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, with experts saying Gaza City is experiencing famine.
Dr. Rami Mhanna, the managing director of Shifa Hospital, where some of the bodies were brought, said the dead included six people from the same family after a strike hit their home early Saturday morning. They were relatives of the hospital’s director, Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiya, he said.
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