Israeli Strike on Gaza City Apartment Block Kills Five, Officials Say

Synopsis

At least five Palestinians, including four women, were killed early on Saturday in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip city of Gaza, health and civil defence officials said. A Christian mother and her daughter were among the dead, the medics said. Israel has not immediately commented on its accusations that Hamas has rearmed in violation of the ceasefire, while Hamas denies its accusations. Gaza officials say at least 1,400 Palestinians have died since the truce began.

At least five Palestinians were killed in an Israeli air strike in a Gaza City apartment building early Saturday, health and civil defence officials said, including four women. During the strike, the building was destroyed and a fire was set off. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

What is known

According to the church and medics, one of the dead was a Christian mother, Maisa Abu Dawoud, and her daughter, Mary. Mourners attend their funeral at Saint Porphyrius Church, in the Gaza City, as depicted in the photographs.

There are multiple ways of spelling names. The numbers are provided by Palestinian officials, and the reports reviewed did not provide an independent count.

Residents were sleeping at the time of the strikes, with one telling Reuters, “Neighbour Ahmed Al-Dahdouh” that they were sleeping when the strikes started. He stated that they went outside and noticed that their neighbour's house had been struck and that they were able to rescue their neighbours.

One of the rules of international humanitarian law. It precludes actions which can be described as attacks which inflict a disproportionate loss of life or injury on the enemy compared with what the military gains is likely to achieve in the attack.

The ceasefire context

There has been little progress on a deal that included terms to be followed by Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw its troops. Israel has been increasing the pressure on Hamas in recent weeks, alleging the group has been arming up and continuing to fire rockets against Israel in breach of the ceasefire.

Hamas is denying it was trying to arm itself or conduct attacks, while blaming Israel for sabotaging the peace deal. Israeli strike kills five in Gaza, including four women.

Previous strikes have been similar. Israel's military in May, in response to Hamas attacks, struck several buildings in Gaza City to destroy the headquarters of its military wing commander Mohammed Odeh. The Israeli government says it has the rights to attack Hamas members.

The cost due since the truce

Since last October's ceasefire, Israelis have killed at least 1,400 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials. Meanwhile, Israel claims four soldiers have been killed by militants in Gaza over the same time. Public records do not provide any clarity on the two sides' claims as to who is in violation of the agreement.

Outlook

The agreement, brokered by the U.S., involves the reconstruction of the area in the future. The outstanding issues are disarmament and troop withdrawal. If they are able to move, it will determine if strikes like Saturday's are the norm or the exception to the ceasefire.