Palestinian health officials reported on Monday that Israeli military strikes in Gaza killed at least five people and wounded 30 others over the preceding 24 hours. The reported casualties, which include two children, occurred in separate incidents on Sunday, according to statements from the Gaza Health Ministry and the Palestinian Ministry of Education.
In one incident, the Palestinian Ministry of Education stated that a 7-year-old girl, Wafaa Aqila, and her father were killed. According to the ministry’s statement, the two were in a vehicle that was hit by an Israeli strike as they were returning from purchasing school supplies.
Hours later, an Israeli artillery strike hit the Sakina School in Deir el-Balah, according to reports from Palestinian medics. The school was being used as a shelter for displaced individuals at the time of the event. A first-grade student, Saadi Ghalia, was killed in the strike, the medics reported.
In its statement regarding the incidents, the Palestinian Ministry of Education said that while children in other parts of the world prepare for a new school year, children in Gaza “are subjected to killing and annihilation.”
On Monday, the Gaza Health Ministry also reported that two other Palestinians had died from injuries sustained in previous Israeli strikes. The ministry’s figures state that a total of 73,658 Palestinians have been killed and 174,622 wounded since the conflict escalated in October 2023. These figures have not been independently verified by The World Politics.
The Israeli military has not issued a public statement regarding these specific strikes at the time of this report.
