Israeli forces have continued their large-scale assault on the Gaza Strip, launching new attacks on residential homes and tents sheltering displaced civilians. On Thursday alone, at least 44 Palestinians were killed and dozens more injured in a series of airstrikes, marking another bloody chapter in Israel’s ongoing campaign against the civilian population.
In one of the deadliest incidents, Israeli warplanes flattened an entire residential block in the Shuja’iyya neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City, killing 15 people, according to medical sources at Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital. A further 20 bodies were brought to the same hospital after strikes on residential buildings along Al-Yarmouk Street and other parts of Shuja’iyya.
The attacks extended to the southern Gaza Strip, where at least 24 Palestinians, including 12 members of the Sharab family, were killed in strikes targeting homes and tents for the displaced in Khan Younis, particularly in Al-Manara and the Customs Authority areas.
Other casualties were reported in Al-Mawasi, Ma’an, and Abasan, where six people were killed, while six more were confirmed dead in airstrikes on homes in Qeizan Raslan and the Al-Katiba area.
These massacres are part of the ongoing campaign of genocide waged by Israeli forces in Gaza since 7 October 2023, with the full backing of the United States. According to official Palestinian figures, more than 165,000 Palestinians have been killed or injured, the vast majority of whom are women and children, with over 11,000 still missing, many believed to be buried under the rubble.
Despite widespread human rights condemnation, Israeli forces continue to implement policies that amount to war crimes, including the deliberate targeting of civilians, which serves to forcibly displace communities. Under international humanitarian law, particularly the Geneva Conventions, the targeting of civilians and vital infrastructure constitutes a grave breach that warrants criminal accountability before international courts.
The indiscriminate shelling of residential areas and civilian shelters in Gaza also violates Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which prohibits deliberate attacks against civilian populations and protected civilian objects. Additionally, the ongoing siege, which has obstructed the entry of humanitarian aid and destroyed Gaza’s essential infrastructure, may meet the legal definition of genocide as outlined in the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
Although human rights organisations have repeatedly called for sanctions and legal action against Israel, many Western governments—led by the United States—continue to provide unconditional military and political support, enabling ongoing violations and shielding Israeli officials from international accountability.
As the massacres continue, there is an urgent need for decisive international action to halt the assault, hold Israeli leaders accountable before the ICC, impose an arms embargo, and initiate independent investigations into war crimes committed against the Palestinian people.
Furthermore, the Israeli government’s explicit plans to forcibly transfer Palestinians, as recently reiterated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pose an existential threat to the Palestinian population and demand an immediate response from the United Nations and the International Criminal Court, to prevent a new Nakba, now unfolding with the backing of global powers.
