Amid dire humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, Israeli occupation forces continue their assaults on residential areas. On Sunday, a Palestinian civilian was killed in the Al-Shuja’iyya neighbourhood, east of Gaza City, after being targeted by an Israeli occupation drone.
Since the morning, the neighbourhoods of Al-Shuja’iyya and Al-Zaytoun have been subjected to intense bombardment and demolition operations that have destroyed inhabited homes, deepening the suffering of civilians trapped under rubble and preventing rescue teams from reaching those still buried beneath the debris.
Since the start of the Israeli genocide on 7 October 2023, the death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 68,858 Palestinians, the vast majority of them women and children, while the number of those injured has exceeded 170,664.
Following the ceasefire agreement on 11 October, at least 226 Palestinians have been killed and 594 injured, while 499 bodies have been recovered from under the rubble. Additionally, the remains of 30 Palestinians have been returned by the occupation, bringing the total number of bodies retrieved to 225.
The repeated attacks on densely populated residential areas and the direct or indirect targeting of civilians constitute a grave violation of the core principles of international humanitarian law, which obligate the occupying power to protect civilians and to refrain from indiscriminate or disproportionate use of force.
The targeting of homes in the absence of clear military necessity amounts to collective punishment, prohibited under international law, and may constitute war crimes requiring accountability.
The continued targeting of civilians after the declaration of a ceasefire represents an aggravated violation, undermining international commitments and stripping such agreements of their humanitarian and legal value. The systematic destruction of civilian infrastructure further increases the risk of forced displacement and threatens Palestinians’ fundamental rights to life, housing, and dignity.
