Eighty people missing in Israeli air strike on Gaza City
At least 80 Palestinians are missing after a massive Israeli bombing in the Shujayea district of northern Gaza City. The dozens of missing in the attack are believed buried in the rubble of at least 10 residential buildings that were blown up.
The death toll has now risen to 22 and is expected to surge further, with more than 50 people receiving treatment in hospitals.
‘Another genocidal act’: Rescuers scramble to save buried victims
When the attack happened, we were literally 1km away from the site of the explosion in Shujayea neighbourhood. We could see a massive dark cloud of smoke. At least 10 homes were destroyed in multiple air strikes.
Many of the dead are women and children who were sheltering inside. About 55 Palestinians were critically injured and transferred to nearby al-Ahli Hospital.
Close to 80 people are missing and trapped under the rubble. The chances of rescuing them are becoming more slim with the passage of time. This is another genocidal act in an area that has already been relentlessly bombed.
Shujayea neighbourhood was invaded twice in the past few months by Israel’s army. Hundreds of acres of agricultural land have been bulldozed, creating what the military calls a “buffer zone”. Although increasingly it’s become a killing zone.
Witness recounts scene of Israeli strikes: People ‘torn to pieces’
Ayub Salim, 26, a Shujayea resident, described the massive Israeli attack on a four-storey building. The area was hit with “multiple missiles” and was “overcrowded with tents, displaced people and homes”.
“Shrapnel flew in all directions,” he said, describing “a terrifying and indescribable scene”. “Dust and massive destruction filled the entire place. We couldn’t see anything, just [heard] the screams and panic of the people.”
Salim said the dead were “torn to pieces”. “Even now, emergency crews are still transporting the dead and the injured. It is truly a horrific massacre. Civil defence teams are struggling to retrieve them all.”
Israeli army says its Gaza City attack targeted Hamas fighter
The Israeli military says it targeted a senior Hamas fighter in the air raids that blew up an entire neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City, killing at least 29 people, including children and women.
The army said it “struck a senior Hamas terrorist who was responsible for planning and executing terrorist attacks” from the area, without giving his name.
It said several steps were taken before the attack to mitigate harm to civilians, but did not elaborate.
‘A massacre with the full meaning of the word' At least 29 people killed, nearly 80 others still missing.
More witnesses have described the horror of Israel’s bombardment of the Shujayea neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City. “We were talking in the street and suddenly we were shocked to see the building’s bricks flying apart – in addition to flying hands and feet,” one man told Al Jazeera.
Another survivor added: “It is a massacre with the full meaning of the word. I haven’t seen or heard about a massacre like this since the start of the war. Most of the martyrs are children and defenceless civilians.”
He said Israel’s attacks destroyed more than 30 homes in the district. “I don’t know what more the Israelis are planning for us. We need this bloodshed to come to an end. This is not fair, enough is enough.”
