GAZA CITY, Apr 11 (Agencies): Gaza rescuers said a pre-dawn Israeli air strike Friday killed 10 members of the same family, as the UN said dozens of recent attacks on the Palestinian territory had killed only women and children.
A UN rights office report also warned that expanding Israeli evacuation orders were resulting in the "forcible transfer" of people into ever-shrinking spaces, which "raise real concern as to the future viability of Palestinians as a group in Gaza".
Israel's military said it was looking into the attack that killed members of the same family in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, adding separately that it had struck approximately 40 "terror targets" across the territory over the past day.
Israel resumed its Gaza strikes on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire with Hamas.
Since then, more than 1,500 people have been killed, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory to which Israel cut off aid more than a month ago.
"Ten people, including seven children, were brought to the hospital as martyrs following an Israeli air strike that targeted the Farra family home in central Khan Yunis," civil defence spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told AFP.
The dead and injured were taken to hospital. AFP footage of the aftermath showed several bodies wrapped in white shrouds and blankets.
Footage of the house that was hit showed mangled concrete slabs and twisted metal.
Early on Friday, the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning to residents of several areas east of Gaza City ahead of a new offensive.
The UN on Friday decried the impact of the ongoing Israeli strikes, finding that "a large per centage of fatalities are children and women".
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Gaza City residents have lost their only source of clean water in the past week after supplies from Israel's water utility were cut by the Israeli army's renewed offensive, municipal authorities in the territory said.
Many now have to walk, sometimes for miles, to get a small water fill after the Israeli military's bombardment and ground offensive in the Gaza City's eastern Shejaia neighbourhood damaged the pipeline operated by state-owned Mekorot.
"Since morning, I have been waiting for water," said 42-year-old Gaza woman Faten Nassar. "There are no stations and no trucks coming. There is no water. The crossings are closed. God willing, the war will end safely and peacefully."
Israel's military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Israel ordered Shejaia residents to evacuate last week as it launched an offensive that has seen several districts bombed. The military has said previously it was operating against "terror infrastructure" and had killed a senior militant leader.
Mekorot's pipeline had been supplying 70 per cent of Gaza City's water since the destruction of most of its wells during the war, municipal authorities say.
"The situation is very difficult and things are getting more complicated, especially when it comes to people's daily lives and their daily water needs, whether for cleaning, disinfecting, and even cooking and drinking," said Husni Mhana, the municipality's spokesperson.
Earlier, A growing number of Americans now view Israel unfavourably, with more than half expressing distrust in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
The poll, conducted from March 24 to 30 among 3,605 US adults, found that 53 per cent of Americans now have an unfavorable opinion of Israel, a sharp rise from 42 per cent in 2022. The shift crosses political and generational lines.
Among Republicans, negative views of Israel rose to 37 per cent, up from 27 per cent two years ago. Among Democrats, unfavorable sentiment surged to 69 per cent, compared to 53 per cent in 2022. Younger Americans, regardless of party affiliation, are particularly critical: 71 per cent of Democrats under 50 and 50 per cent of Republicans under 50 now view Israel unfavorably.
UN rights office warns Israel's actions in Gaza threaten Palestinian existence
The United Nations' human rights office warned on Friday that Israel's actions in Gaza are increasingly endangering the existence of Palestinians as a group.
"In light of the cumulative impact of Israeli forces conduct in Gaza, we are seriously concerned that Israel appears to be inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life increasingly incompatible with their continued existence as a group," Ravina Shamdasani, the spokesperson for the office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights told reporters in Geneva.
Court throws out lawsuit on Danish arms sales to Israel
A Copenhagen court on Friday rejected a lawsuit filed by four humanitarian organisations accusing Denmark of violating international law by exporting weapons to Israel.
The Palestinian human rights association Al-Haq, Amnesty International, Oxfam and Action Aid Denmark said they would appeal the decision to Denmark's Supreme Court.
The four had filed their lawsuit against the Danish foreign ministry and national police last year.
They argued there was a risk that "Danish military materiel (F-35 components) was being used to commit serious crimes against civilians in Gaza".
In a ruling seen by AFP, the Eastern High Court wrote that the four associations "cannot be considered to be affected in such a direct, individual and concrete manner that they meet the general conditions of Danish law regarding their right to bring proceedings."
Amnesty International disagreed.
"Arms exports are a human rights issue, and our legal interest is clear," said the secretary general of the Danish branch of Amnesty International, Vibe Klarup, said in a statement.
"If we, as human rights and humanitarian organisations seeking to uphold Denmark's obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty in relation to the bombings in the Gaza cannot challenge in court the legality of the Danish government's decisions to supply weapons to Israel when, as reported by UNICEF, at least 15,600 Palestinian children have been killed since October 2023 - who does?" she added.
In their lawsuit, the associations targeted the foreign ministry since it "determines whether there is a risk that weapons and weapons components could be used to violate human rights" and the police because it was the authority responsible for issuing export licences.
"Denmark's position on export control, also in relation to the F-35 programme, is in accordance with applicable EU and international law obligations," the Danish foreign ministry told AFP in an emailed comment.
Danish media outlets Danwatch and Information revealed in 2023 that Israel's F-35s were equipped with parts made by the Danish group Terma.
Last year, Amnesty International accused Israel of "committing genocide" against Palestinians in Gaza.
The Danish lawsuit was filed in March 2024, on the heels of a similar suit filed in the Netherlands by a coalition of humanitarian organisations.
A Dutch court in December rejected demands by pro-Palestinian groups for a total ban on exporting goods that can be used for military means to Israel.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says the overall death toll has reached 50,846 since the war with Israel began on October 7, 2023, a figure the UN has deemed reliable.
Hamas' unprecedented assault on Israel resulted in 1,218 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli data.
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