Israeli strikes kill at least 19 in Gaza

GAZA STRIP

Israeli strikes early Sunday killed 19 people in Gaza, including four who were sheltering in a tent camp for displaced people inside a hospital complex.

An Israeli strike earlier yesterday hit a tent camp housing displaced people in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, killing four people, including one woman, and injuring others, Gaza's Health Ministry said.

A journalist filmed men rushing to the scene to help the wounded and retrieve bodies, while trying to extinguish the fire.

The hospital in Deir al-Balah is the main medical facility operating in central Gaza, and thousands of people have taken shelter there after fleeing their homes in the war-ravaged territory.

A separate strike flattened a house in northern Gaza, killing at least eight people, including three children, their parents and their grandmother, according to the ministry.

Another Israeli strike on a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City on Aug. 3 killed at least 16 people and wounded another 21, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which announced the toll yesterday.

Israel’s military, which regularly accuses Palestinian militants of sheltering in civilian areas, said it struck a Hamas command center.

Meanwhile, a woman in her 70s and an 80-year-old man were killed in the stabbing in a Tel Aviv suburb, and two other men were wounded. The police said the attack was carried out by a Palestinian militant, who was “neutralized,” and that a search was underway for other suspects.

The rescuers said the wounded were found in three different locations, each about 500 meters (yards) apart, adding to concerns that more than one assailant was involved.

Estimated 9,900 Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons

The number of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons is estimated at around 9,900, Palestinian organizations specializing in prisoner affairs said in a report.

The report tracked the number of those arrested by Israel in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, some of whom were later released, coinciding with the war in Gaza that began Oct. 7, 2023.

The report said the number of prisoners in Israeli prisons at the beginning of August includes 3,432 administrative detainees, at least 250 children and 86 women, 23 of whom are administrative detainees.