Israeli airstrikes on Sunday killed at least nine people in two separate incidents in the Gaza Strip, raising the weekend death toll to 97, according to Palestinian medics. The strikes targeted buildings in the northern and central parts of the enclave, trapping many people under the rubble. In Jabalia, Israeli forces have intensified operations, aiming to dislodge Hamas militants in the area since early October. Among those killed on Sunday were five members of the same family in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, including three children, as reported by the Palestinian health ministry and the official news agency Wafa.
The strikes also killed a Palestinian woman and an Egyptian security guard in Jabalia, the ministry said. Several other Palestinians were wounded. The military did not provide details about the circumstances of those deaths. Still, Israeli media reported that it struck a vehicle carrying a militant from the smaller Islamic Jihad group, which is considered a close ally of Hamas, and took part in the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war.
At a hospital in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, distraught relatives mourned the victims of Saturday’s strikes. Many bodies were laid out on the floor, some draped with blankets. Others lay among piles of rubble, including a van incinerated by an Israeli strike near Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia that killed the driver and a camera operator, according to medics.
According to witnesses and medical officials, that strike targeted a vehicle with press markings, which was visible from the street. The journalists, Mohammed al-Za’anin and Mohammed Al-Tanani worked for the Turkish-owned broadcaster TRT Arabic, which has a temporary office in a warehouse facing Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. Both were wearing press vests and were identifiable, according to video footage and a source who spoke to CPJ.
In a separate strike in central Gaza, shrapnel pierced the skull of Sa’id Al-Attar, a 35-year-old reporter for the Al-Quds Today TV channel, according to his employer, the Palestinian Journalists’ Union. His condition deteriorated rapidly, with doctors saying his bleeding had put him into a coma. His injuries were so severe that he needed surgery outside of Gaza, but it was not possible to arrange the operation, his colleagues told CPJ.
CPJ research shows that more than 130 Palestinian journalists have been killed during the conflict, with dozens of others injured. In the past month alone, nearly a third of all those killed in Gaza were working for Palestinian broadcasters or newspapers.
As the violence continues, US and Arab mediators have stepped up efforts to conclude a ceasefire deal. Palestinian sources familiar with the talks have suggested that Hamas has shown flexibility toward a phased agreement, including a short-term truce of six to eight weeks and an exchange of prisoners. Israel’s national security chief, Mossad head David Barnea, will join the negotiations in Doha on Monday.