Air raids by Israel result in 36 fatalities at two sites in central Gaza, medical facilities report.
Early Tuesday morning local time (Monday night in the US), two air strikes took place. One happened at around 1 am and the other at 2:45 am. Reports from witnesses indicate that these strikes killed many people.
Al Aqsa hospital received 25 bodies following the first strike, while Al Awda hospital had 11 bodies delivered after the second attack. Rescue workers are currently working to find any survivors trapped under the debris of a four-story building in Nuseirat that was demolished during the first strike. Several people were believed to have been sheltered in the building's yard.
Videos obtained by CNN show some of the injured victims being transported to Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, while others show the remains of several children being extracted from the wreckage. Frantic relatives surround the piles of rubble, looking for signs of life, but the rescue workers don't have the equipment needed to clear the rubble.
CNN reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment on the two strikes, but did not receive a response.
Some of those killed in the strikes were recent arrivals from Rafah. A witness, Ashraf Al Jalees, said, "I swear these are innocent civilians...They are all buried under the ground, including children. There are seven girls here. What fault did they have?"
He claimed he had set up a tent for a friend named Hassan Obeid, who, he said, had "no affiliation with Hamas or anyone else." Calling out Obeid's name, Al Jalees added, "He stayed to sleep here tonight, and the house collapsed on all of them...Over 50 people are under this, I swear to God they are all innocent civilians. God will question me one day if I'm lying."
Another man, Hamdan Karaja, said, "My children, both girls and boys, are under the rubble. My wife as well."
Karaja had seven children. He said his father's body had been retrieved. "[We have] over 100 displaced individuals, with some comprising 20 family members. They are all trapped under the rubble. We were targeted while we were asleep, without any prior warning."
"[We also have] displaced people’s tents in the yard. We have 10 martyrs here and 20 over there."
So far, CNN has confirmed 13 deaths, but the extent of damage suggests the casualty count may rise.
Rami Al Aida, a Civil Defense spokesperson in Central Gaza, said, "Crews are operating in extremely challenging conditions due to a lack of fuel and equipment. We hope to find people alive. We appeal to all international organizations to provide the Civil Defense with the necessary tools, bulldozers, and fuel."
Al Aida confirmed that dozens were still under the rubble. "There are over 4 families trapped under the rubble, in addition to the displaced families seeking shelter in and around the building. There are more than 100 people."
A young girl named Sama Alousha said, "We all panicked and came to see what happened. I saw my friend’s house completely destroyed. We are unable to rescue anyone. I have five friends trapped under this place."
A man, who did not identify himself, noted that he and his family had been displaced multiple times.
"We were displaced from Shajaiya. We moved to Khan Younis and then to Rafah, and from Rafah, we came here. My brother rented a place here and stayed there with his family. Suddenly, I received a call informing me that the place where my brother was staying was hit. There are no tools to retrieve them."
He called out the names of his brother's family, but got no response.
A hysterical woman at the scene, Um Mahmoud, said, "My brother arrived from Rafah three days ago after being forcibly displaced, and now we do not know his whereabouts. He, along with his wife and five children, has no connections with anyone. He is simply a displaced person who came from Rafah and was still searching for a place to stay in Deir el Balah."
She continued, "His name was on the list of those supposed to leave Gaza through the Rafah border, but fate intervened."
A man named Salah Abu Jarada said that his brother had also come from the Rafah area. "They were hit, with three floors collapsing on top of them. They have not been rescued yet."
A second strike took place at the UNRWA school in Nuseirat about two hours after the first. Ismail Abu Ghosheh said, "Everything is burnt, and seven people were killed."
Moreover, Najah Abu Daher said, "There is no safe place to go. They follow us wherever we go. My son was killed, along with three of my relatives. They struck us in the dead of night, causing children to run everywhere and glass to shatter."
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The World Health Organization expressed concern over the escalating violence in the Middle East, urging all parties involved to respect international humanitarian law and protect civilians.
The Red Cross has set up emergency shelters in various parts of the Middle East to accommodate displaced families from the conflict areas, as the situation in certain parts of the region continues to worsen.
Source: edition.cnn.com
