Israeli Settlers’ Attacks Injure 20, as 34 are Killed by Israeli Airstrikes Across Gaza Strip
PALESTINE – At least 34 Palestinians were on Friday killed and others wounded after Israeli airstrikes across Gaza Strip targeted various civilian locations according to local medics.
Three people were killed and seven others injured when Israeli warplanes struck an apartment near the Prosthetics Center on Yarmouk Market Street in the Al-Daraj neighborhood.
Three others were killed when a tent housing displaced families on the Islamic University campus in Al-Rimal was targeted, and three more died in a separate strike on an apartment in Tel al-Hawa, southwest Gaza City.
An Israeli drone targeted a tent near Al-Noor Mosque on Al-Thawra Street in Al-Rimal, killing two people, and another two were killed in a strike on an apartment in the Sakeek building in the Al-Sabra neighborhood.
3 Palestinians were killed and several others injured in an airstrike on an apartment in the Abu Dhabi Building opposite Al-Khidmah Hospital.
Two more people were killed when a tent sheltering displaced families was bombed near Al-Azhar University intersection, while another civilian was killed when warplanes struck an apartment near the YMCA in western Gaza City.
Israeli Settlers’ Attacks Injure 20 Palestinians
Around 20 Palestinians were injured early Friday when illegal Israeli settlers attacked the village of Khillet al-Daba in the southern occupied West Bank, according to local sources.
Osama al-Makhmara, a Palestinian activist involved in anti-settlement efforts, said that dozens of illegal settlers stormed the village in the Masafer Yatta area southeast of Hebron, assaulting residents with sticks and knives.
He said the attack left at least 20 Palestinians injured, including elderly individuals, children, and a three-month-old infant. Injuries ranged from bruises and fractures to stab wounds, and nine people were taken to hospital.
Khillet al-Daba has been repeatedly targeted by illegal settlers and Israeli forces in efforts to displace its residents, activists said.
On May 5, Israeli authorities demolished 25 homes, agricultural structures, and water wells in the village, citing “unlicensed construction.”
The village is among those threatened with forced evacuation. In 2022, an Israeli court ordered its demolition, claiming it lies within a military firing zone. The decision aims to allow Israel to seize approximately 3,000 dunams of land (about 3 million square meters).
According to the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, Israeli forces and illegal settlers carried out around 1,613 violations against Palestinians and their property in the West Bank during August, including 431 by illegal settlers.
Since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, settlement expansion, demolitions, and forced displacement have intensified in the West Bank. Palestinian officials warn such measures undermine the feasibility of a two-state solution.
Since then, more than a 1,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in the West Bank by Israeli forces and illegal settlers, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
In an advisory opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
