An Israeli airstrike near a health clinic run by an American aid group killed more than a dozen people in Gaza on Thursday, according to the hospital that received many of the dead.
The strike hit near a clinic operated by Project HOPE, an American aid organization, in the central town of Deir al-Balah, according to Natia Deisadze, its regional director. Civilians, including children, were gathering outside the clinic at the time of the attack “to receive essential nutrition support,” she said.
The Israeli military said that it had struck a Hamas fighter who participated in the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which ignited the Gaza war. It added that it was still reviewing the strike and regretted any “harm to uninvolved individuals” in the strike in Deir al-Balah.
The Israeli military has said its bombing campaign in Gaza has targeted militants and their weapons infrastructure while seeking to minimize harm to civilians. The military has frequently carried out strikes on densely populated areas, killing many civilians but Israeli officials have accused militant groups of operating in civilian areas.
Intensive Israel-Hamas negotiations this week over a new U.S.-backed cease-fire proposal have raised hopes for a truce soon. But there was no sign that Israel was easing up on its attacks in Gaza that it says are aimed at incapacitating Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that has long ruled the enclave.
More than 55,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in the war, including more than 7,000 in the roughly four months since a cease-fire collapsed in March, according to the Gaza health ministry.
The war has created a dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where hunger is rampant and Palestinians are struggling to find food and shelter.
The bodies of 18 people, including children, were brought to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah after the Israel airstrike, said Dr. Khalil al-Daqran, a hospital spokesman. Dr. al-Daqran is an employee of the Gaza health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in casualty counts.
A CCTV video from the moment of the strike, verified by The New York Times, shows two men walking down a street with a group of about a dozen women and children sitting on a pavement close by. Suddenly, the two men are hit and a cloud of dust fills the screen.
Videos vetted by The Times from the aftermath of the strike showed at least nine women and children lying injured as onlookers scream. One woman was bleeding from a head wound and the twisted body of a child was nearby.
“There was a loud explosion,” said Doaa al-Harazin, 28, who witnessed the strike. “I saw children torn apart while women nearby screamed in anguish.”
Ameera Harouda, Malachy Browne, Abu Bakr Bashir, Nader Ibrahim and Sanjana Varghese contributed reporting to this article.
Adam Rasgon is a reporter for The Times in Jerusalem, covering Israeli and Palestinian affairs.
Natan Odenheimer is a Times reporter in Jerusalem, covering Israeli and Palestinian affairs.
The post A Lethal Israeli Airstrike Hits Near a Gaza Aid Clinic appeared first on New York Times.
