Israeli strikes kill 30 in Gaza, including journalist and rescue service official

GAZA CITY – Israeli military strikes killed at least 30 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on May 25, including a local journalist and a senior rescue service official, local health authorities said.

The latest deaths in the Israeli campaign resulted from separate Israeli strikes in Khan Younis in the south, Jabalia in the north and Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, medics said.

In Jabalia, they said local journalist Hassan Majdi Abu Warda and several family members were killed by an air strike that hit his house earlier on May 25.

Another air strike in Nuseirat killed Mr Ashraf Abu Nar, a senior official in the territory’s civil emergency service, and his wife in their house, medics added.

There was no immediate comment by the Israeli military.

The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said that Mr Abu Warda’s death raised the number of Palestinian journalists killed in Gaza since Oct 7, 2023, to 220.

Israel’s military said in a statement that chief of staff Eyal Zamir visited troops in Khan Younis on May 25, telling them that “this is not an endless war” and that Hamas has lost most of its assets, including its command and control.

“We will deploy every tool at our disposal to bring the hostages home, dismantle Hamas and dismantle its rule,” Mr Zamir was cited as saying.

The statement did not address May 25’s strikes.

Later on May 25, the International Committee of the Red Cross ICRC said in a statement that two of its staff - Mr Ibrahim Eid and Mr Ahmad Abu Hilal - had been killed in a strike on a house in Khan Younis on May 22.

“Their killing points to the intolerable civilian death toll in Gaza. The ICRC reiterates its urgent call for a ceasefire and for the respect and protection of civilians, including medical, humanitarian relief, and civil defence personnel,” the ICRC statement added.

In a separate statement, the media office said Israeli forces were in control of 77 per cent of the Gaza Strip, either through ground forces or evacuation orders and bombardment that keeps residents away from their homes.

The armed wing of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad said in separate statements on May 25 that fighters carried out several ambushes and attacks using bombs and anti-tank rockets against Israeli forces operating in several areas across Gaza.

On May 23, the Israeli military said it had conducted more strikes in Gaza overnight, hitting 75 targets including weapons storage facilities and rocket launchers.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said on May 23 that Palestinians were enduring “the cruellest phase” of the war in Gaza, where Israel’s lengthy blockade has led to widespread shortages of food and medicine.

Limited aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip restarted on May 19 for the first time since March 2.

The Gaza City municipality, meanwhile, warned on May 24 of “a potential large-scale water crisis” due to a lack of supplies needed to repair damaged infrastructure.

Demonstrators gathered yet again in Tel Aviv on the night of May 24 for their regular protest calling for the freedom of those held captive, carrying a giant banner that read “Save the hostages, end the war”.

“We want the war to end now because we see... that the war will not lead to the release of the hostages, and that it will bring more death, more misery on both sides,” demonstrator Jonathan Adereth told AFP news agency.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen on May 25, shortly after air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem, according to AFP journalists.

“Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, a missile that was launched from Yemen was intercepted,” the army said in a statement.

Israel’s rescue service, the Magen David Adom (MDA), said there were no reports of injuries related to the launch.

The Israeli military reported shooting down two missiles launched from Yemen on May 22, with the MDA reporting that at least one person was injured while seeking shelter from the first missile.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have repeatedly fired missiles and drones at Israel since the Gaza war broke out in October 2023 following

Hamas’ attack on Israel

.

The rebels, who say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians, paused their attacks during a two-month Gaza ceasefire that ended in March, but resumed them after Israel restarted its campaign in the coastal territory.

Israel launched an air and ground war in Gaza after the attack in October 2023, which killed around 1,200 people by Israeli tallies with 251 hostages abducted into Gaza. The conflict has since killed more than 53,900 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, and devastated the coastal strip.

Aid groups say signs of severe malnutrition are widespread.
REUTERS, AFP