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19 killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza

US plans $8.0 billion arms sale to Israel


January 05, 2025 00:00:00


GAZA, Jan 04 (AFP): Rescuers in Gaza said on Saturday that at least 19 people, including eight children, were killed in Israeli strikes across the Palestinian territory.

According to the civil defence agency, an air strike at dawn on the house of the al-Ghoul family in Gaza City killed 11 people, seven of them children. "The home, which housed several displaced people, was completely destroyed," said civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal.

"It was a two-storey building and several people are still under the rubble," he added, saying Israeli drones had "also fired on ambulance staff". Contacted by AFP, the Israeli army did not immediately comment on the strike.

AFP images from the neighbourhood of Shujaiya, in the east of Gaza City, showed residents combing through smoking rubble and bodies lined up on the ground, covered in white sheets. "A huge explosion woke us up. Everything was shaking," said witness Ahmed Mussa.

"I was surprised to see (the strike) was on the house of our neighbours, the al-Ghoul family. It was home to children, women. There wasn't anyone wanted or who posed a threat."

Elsewhere, the civil defence agency said five security officers, tasked with accompanying aid convoys, were killed by an Israeli strike as they were driving in a car in the southern city of Khan Yunis.

Bassal accused Israel of having "deliberately targeted" them in order to "affect the humanitarian supply chain and increase the suffering" of the population.

The army has not yet responded to the accusations. Local rescuers also said three members of the same family, including a child, were killed when their house was bombed in Khan Yunis.

The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 45,717 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry which the United Nations considers reliable.

Meanwhile, the administration of President Joe Biden has notified Congress of a proposed $8 billion arms sale to Israel, a US official said on Friday, with Washington maintaining support for its ally whose war in Gaza has killed tens of thousands.

The deal would need approval from the House of Representatives and Senate committees and includes munitions for fighter jets and attack helicopters as well as artillery shells, Axios reported earlier. The package also includes small-diameter bombs and warheads, according to Axios.

The State Department did not respond to a request for comment. Protesters have for months demanded an arms embargo against Israel, but US policy has largely remained unchanged. In August, the United States approved the sale of $20 billion in fighter jets and other military equipment to Israel.

The Biden administration says it is helping its ally defend against Iran-backed militant groups like Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.

Facing international criticism, Washington has stood by Israel during its assault on Gaza that has displaced nearly all of Gaza's 2.3 million population, caused a hunger crisis and led to genocide accusations that Israel denies.


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