JAKARTA - The death toll from Israel's attack in violation of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip agreed to three months ago has reached 400, including many children, according to health ministry figures.
Israel says its attacks - shootings, bombings and airstrikes - are aimed at Hamas and other militants who pose a threat to its troops, or people acting suspiciously near the "yellow line" that divides the territory into Israeli and Hamas-controlled areas.
However, around 40 percent of the 439 people killed in the Israeli attacks between the start of the ceasefire on October 10 and January 9 were children, the Gaza Health Ministry said, quoted by The National (13/1).
Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesman for Gaza's Civil Defense, questioned Israel's justification for continuing its attacks.
"If Israel responds to resistance operations, why do we see the killing of civilians almost every day, especially children, far from any clashes?" he said.
"Israel claims this is a response to resistance, but it's a lie. There is no resistance near these areas. Israel makes excuses to kill civilians and children," he said.
Meanwhile, families living near the yellow line, the dividing line between the Palestinian territories and Israel in Gaza, remain under threat, while those far from the line are not spared.
The latest case occurred on January 8 in the Falluja area, Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, where a young girl, Hamsa Houso, was killed about one kilometer from the yellow line.
His uncle, Mohammad Houso, said the family woke up to screams.
"I ran downstairs and found Hamsa, who was only 12 years old, shot in the head," he said.
Moments earlier, Israeli forces fired three bullets into the area, followed by heavy fire from armored vehicles and quadcopter drones.
"The bullet hit his head directly. This was intentional. Israeli technology is advanced, nothing is accidental," said Houso.
He took Hamsa to the nearest medical post, but the ambulance there was not working. When another rescue team arrived, 15 minutes later, he was dead.
He said Hamsa loved school and dreamed of being "someone great".
The family is struggling with the loss of their father, Nidal, who has been missing since Israeli forces launched an operation in northern Gaza more than a year ago.
"We don't know if he is a martyr or a prisoner. We don't know anything," Houso added.
Separately, Fatima Ma‘rouf (11) was sitting near her family's tent in Al Atatra, west of the town of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, when a quadcopter drone arrived above her head on January 3.
"The drone started dropping small bombs on people," said her grandmother, Amina Ma'rouf.
"One of the bombs hit Fatima directly and she died instantly," Amina said bitterly.
"I dream of rebuilding my house, which was destroyed in the war, finishing school, and becoming a science teacher," she said.
Her mother, who was wounded in the attack, is still in intensive care, unaware that her daughter had been killed.
"What is the fault of this family? They are not part of any faction or group," said Ma'rouf.
"Israel claims the war is over, but they continue to kill our children openly," he continued.
"There is no reason that can justify the killing of a child. But they continue to kill our children, and no one is stopping them," he said.
It is known that the number of deaths due to the Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip has increased to 71,419, while 171,318 others have been injured since October 7, 2023, WAFA reported on Monday.
Medical sources in Gaza said the total number of deaths since the ceasefire on October 10 had risen to 442, and the total number of injured to 1,240, while 697 bodies had been found.
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