DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli strikes killed at least 12 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, mostly women and children, officials said Wednesday, as the nearly 15-month war ground on into the new year.
One strike hit a home in the Jabaliya area of northern Gaza, the most isolated and heavily destroyed part of the territory, where Israel has waged a major operation since early October. Gaza’s Health Ministry said seven people were killed, including a woman and four children, and at least a dozen other people were wounded.
Another strike overnight in the built-up Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza killed a woman and a child, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which received the bodies.
“Are you celebrating? Enjoy as we die. For a year and a half, we have been dying,” said a man carrying the body of a child in the flashing lights of emergency vehicles.
Israel’s military said fighters fired rockets at Israel from the Bureij area overnight and that its forces responded with a strike targeting a fighter. The military also issued evacuation orders for the area.
A third strike in the southern city of Khan Younis killed three people, according to Nasser Hospital and the European Hospital, which received the bodies.
The war began when Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and abducting around 250. About 100 hostages are still held in Gaza, at least a third believed to be dead.
Israel’s air and ground offensive has killed over 45,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It says women and children make up more than half the dead but does not say how many of those killed were fighters.
The Israeli military says it only targets fighters and blames Hamas for civilian deaths because its fighters operate in dense residential areas. The army says it has killed 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.
The war has caused widespread destruction and displaced some 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, many of them multiple times.
Hundreds of thousands live in tents on the coast as winter brings frequent rainstorms and temperatures drop below 50 degrees Fahrenheit at night. At least six infants and another person have died of hypothermia, according to the Health Ministry.
Many displaced Palestinians in central Gaza rely on charity kitchens as their sole food provider amid restrictions on aid and skyrocketing prices. AP footage showed a long line of children waiting for rice, the only item served at the kitchen in Deir al-Balah on Wednesday.
“Some of those kitchens close because they don’t receive aid, and others distribute little amounts of food and its not enough,” said Umm Adham Shaheen, displaced from Gaza City.
American and Arab mediators have spent nearly a year trying to broker a ceasefire and hostage release, but those efforts have repeatedly stalled. Hamas has demanded a lasting truce, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayhu has vowed to keep fighting until “total victory.”
Israel sees net departure of citizens for a second year
More than 82,000 Israelis moved abroad in 2024 and 33,000 people immigrated to the country, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics said. Another 23,000 Israelis returned after long periods abroad.
It was the second straight year of net departures, a rare occurrence in the history of the country that actively encourages Jewish immigration. Many Israelis, looking for a break from the war, have moved abroad, leading to concern about whether it will drive a “brain drain” in sectors like medicine and technology.
Last year, 15,000 fewer people immigrated to Israel than in 2023.
Military blames ‘weakening of discipline’ in archaeologist’s death
In a separate development, Israel’s military blamed “operational burnout” and a “weakening of discipline and safety” in the killing of a 70-year-old archaeologist in southern Lebanon in November along with a soldier while visiting a combat zone.
According to Israeli media reports, Zeev Erlich was not on active duty but was wearing a military uniform and had a weapon. The army said he was a reservist and identified him as a “fallen soldier” when it announced his death.
Erlich was a well-known West Bank settler and researcher of Jewish history. Media reports have said he entered Lebanon to explore an archaeological site.
The military launched an investigation after the two were killed in a Hezbollah ambush. A separate probe is looking into who allowed Erlich to enter. The family of the soldier who was killed with him has expressed anger over the circumstances.
The military said the entry of civilians who are not military contractors or journalists into combat zones is not widespread. Still, there have been multiple reports of Israeli civilians who support a permanent Israeli presence in Gaza or Lebanon entering those areas.
Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Tia Goldenberg in Jerusalem contributed.
