Five Palestinians killed in Gaza strikes as Hamas condemns community kitchen attack
Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip have resulted in at least five fatalities, including three charity workers at a community kitchen in Deir el-Balah, while the Israeli military identified a Hamas commander killed in a buffer zone operation.
Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip have killed at least five Palestinians, including three charity workers at a community kitchen in Deir el-Balah, as well as casualties in Khan Younis and Beit Lahiya. The strike on the central city of Deir el-Balah targeted a community kitchen, with all three victims identified as charity workers, according to Al Jazeera reporter Hind Khoudary reporting from Gaza City.
Hamas described the Deir el-Balah strike as a deliberate war crime and part of an ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people. In a statement, the armed group condemned the attack as occurring amid international silence and inaction, arguing that such actions embolden the occupation to continue massacres in disregard of international values, norms, and laws.
Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that at least 72,760 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, 2023. The ministry stated that 871 deaths have occurred since the so-called ceasefire began last October. Israel currently occupies approximately 60 percent of Gaza’s territory, an area demarcated by a so-called yellow line buffer zone.
In a separate development within that buffer zone on Sunday, the Israeli military stated that its forces killed an individual it claimed was armed and posed an imminent threat to soldiers. The army provided no evidence to substantiate the claim that the individual was armed.
The Israeli military also stated that it killed a Hamas commander identified as Bahaa Baroud in the buffer zone. However, there was no immediate confirmation from Hamas regarding the identity of the commander killed in the operation.
