Israeli strikes kill 23 in Gaza, including journalist and first responder

Israeli military strikes killed at least 23 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, including a local journalist and a senior emergency official, according to local health authorities.

Medical sources reported that the fatalities occurred in separate Israeli airstrikes targeting Khan Younis in the south, Jabalia in the north, and Nuseirat in central Gaza.

In Jabalia, journalist Hassan Majdi Abu Warda and several members of his family were killed when an airstrike hit their home earlier in the day. In another incident in Nuseirat, an airstrike claimed the lives of Ashraf Abu Nar, a senior official with the territory’s civil emergency services, and his wife.

The Israeli military has not issued an immediate response.

According to the Gaza government’s media office, which is run by Hamas, Abu Warda’s death brings the number of journalists killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023, to 220.

In a separate update, the same office reported that Israeli forces now control 77% of the Gaza Strip, either through direct military presence or by enforcing evacuations and bombardments that prevent residents from returning home.

Meanwhile, the armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad stated that their fighters carried out ambushes and launched bomb and anti-tank rocket attacks against Israeli troops in various locations across Gaza on Sunday.

On Friday, the Israeli military reported conducting additional overnight airstrikes in Gaza, targeting 75 sites including weapons depots and rocket launch facilities.

Israel’s campaign in Gaza began after Hamas militants launched a cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures.

Since then, over 53,900 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s health authorities. The war has left much of the Gaza Strip in ruins, and aid organizations warn of widespread malnutrition and deepening humanitarian distress.