Dozens of Palestinian Children Killed Amid Israeli Rescue: Gaza Ministry

On Saturday morning as Israel rescued four hostages kidnapped by Hamas from its October 7 attack, at least 94 Palestinians, including children, were killed by the Israeli operation, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

In the daytime rescue operation of Noa Argamani, 25, Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40, from two locations near Nuseirat, a dense central Gaza refugee camp, nearly 100 Palestinians were killed and more than 100 wounded, according to the Associated Press. Their bodies were reportedly taken to Al-Aqsa Hospital. Reports from local sources are much higher, with some exceeding 210 fatalities.

Newsweek has not been able to confirm the figures and is monitoring incoming reports with details of the operation.

All four hostages rescued on Saturday were safely evacuated via helicopter to their family. According to the Israeli police, an Israeli commander was killed during the operation.

Ziad, a paramedic and resident of Nuseirat, who only gave his first name to Reuters, told the outlet, “It was like a horror movie but this was a real massacre. Israeli drones and warplanes fired all night randomly at people’s houses and at people who tried to flee the area.”

He added that the bombardment was centered around a local marketplace and the al-Awda mosque.

The operation comes after Israeli forces struck a United Nations’ (U.N.) school compound in the same area earlier this week. According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), around 6,000 displaced Palestinians were sheltering in the school and dozens have been killed by the airstrikes.

The agency noted that “since the war began, more than 180 buildings belonging to the UN agency have been hit, killing more than 450 displaced people in those facilities.” Commissioner General of the UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday that the agency “shares the coordinates of all its facilities (including this school) with the Israeli Army and other parties to the conflict. Targeting @UN premises or using them for military purposes cannot become the new norm.”

In a Friday X post the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) allegedly confirmed the identities of “17 terrorists that were operating from the school.” The IDF also said its attack was “a precise strike.” According to the AP, only nine of the names Israel listed matched the hospital morgue records, with one alleged militant listed as an 8-year-old boy.

UNRWA told UN News on Friday in the aftermath of the school strike, “The number of those reported killed is between 35 and 45. Scores others are injured.”

Juliette Touma, UNRWA director of communications, told Newsweek in a WhatsApp message that the agency does not have any information on today’s military operation.

Since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, taking around 250 hostages and killing about 1,200 people, Israel has launched a massive military offensive, utilizing aerial bombardments and ground operations. About half of the hostages, meanwhile, were freed during a temporary ceasefire in November, which also saw 240 Palestinians freed from Israeli jails.

As Israel’s ally, the United States has supported the country’s operation with military weapons, many of which have been documented as used in Israeli offensives.

The past few months have witnessed record levels of violence and destruction, with nearly 2 million Palestinians displaced and over 36,700 killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, a department within the Hamas-controlled government.

Newsweek has reached out to the Israeli Defense Force’s spokesperson via email on Saturday morning. Newsweek also contacted the Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations via Facebook for comment on Saturday.

Children and women have been disproportionately impacted by the war over the past several months. However, recent AP analysis shows that since April, women and children have made up around “40 percent of those killed in the Gaza Strip.”

The eight-month conflict has also seen the spread of disease, starvation, and mass death and displacement.

Update 6/8/24, 1:15 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.