Gaza: Overnight Israeli Raids Kill 46 Despite Hamas’ Release of Two Captives
The Israeli regime continues to rain down bombs on the besiged Gaza Strip following the start of the military campaign on October 7.
An Israeli air raid struck the al-Motawwaq family in Jabalia last night, resulting in the loss of twenty-four lives.
Additionally, an air raid targeted the al-Ajrami family in Jabalia, claiming the lives of ten individuals. Among the casualties were five members of the Khader family, which included four children and a woman, Al Jazeera reported.
Furthermore, seven more individuals were killed in Israeli air raids, with casualties occurring both in central Deir el-Balah and in the al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.
The Israeli relentless bombings continued as the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement released two US captives for “humanitarian reasons” in response to Qatari mediation efforts.
Abu Ubaida, the spokesman for al-Qassam Brigades, said on Friday an American mother and her daughter were released “to prove to the US nation and the world that the allegations made by [President Joe] Biden and his fascist administration are false and baseless.”
Meanwhile, Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, said the release of two US captives is a “goodwill” gesture by the group.
“This is a gesture of goodwill from Hamas to prove for all the international community that Hamas is not a terrorist organization,” he told Al Jazeera when asked whether Hamas received anything in return.
Hamad said Hamas is ready to “deal with the issue of the prisoners in a positive way” but first, the Israeli bombardment of Gaza must stop. He added that the group is treating the captives with “dignity and respect.”
Update on casualties
A UN update says the death toll from Israel’s war on Gaza has risen to 4,137 Palestinians, with 70 percent of the dead women and children. About 352 Palestinians were killed in the previous 24 hours.
About 1,400 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed in Israeli-occupied territories, most during the Hamas attacks on October 7.
The Ministry of Housing in Gaza estimates that at least 30 percent of all housing in the territory has either been destroyed or damaged in Israeli air attacks.
More than 1,000 people are reported missing and presumed to be under the rubble of buildings destroyed by Israeli air attacks and artillery, according to the UN update.
About 1.4 million people are internally displaced in Gaza, with more than 544,000 sheltering in 147 UN-designated emergency shelters, which are experiencing increasingly dire conditions.
On October 7, Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Storm deep into the territories occupied by the Israeli regime in reaction to the recurring desecration of al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied al-Quds, the 16-year-old blockade of Gaza as well as intensified Israeli atrocities against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
Source: Agencies
