Gaza Conflict Update: Casualties and Key Statements
New reporting from WAFA, the Palestinian news agency, confirms that the Israeli attack on northern Gaza claimed more than 30 lives and left about 50 people injured. The casualties included civilians who had sought safety in the area, according to WAFA dispatches.
Among the casualties the scene was described as grave, with many of the victims being refugees in the Jebaliya camp. Women and children were among those killed, and the number of injured people exceeded fifty, underscoring the human impact of the strike.
The crisis in the region escalated on October 7 of the previous year when thousands of armed supporters linked to Hamas crossed into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel was at war. Israel described its intervention as aimed at repelling the assault, securing the release of more than 200 hostages including foreigners, and dismantling Hamas. To pursue these objectives, Israel launched large-scale rocket attacks on the Gaza Strip from day one of the operation.
On October 18, Khalil al-Hayya, deputy chairman of Hamas’s Politburo, stated that the movement planned to free the captives only after Israel ceases its aggression in Gaza and pulls its forces back.
Earlier reports from the United States suggested that Israel had accidentally killed the head of Hamas.