Eds: UPDATES: To clarify the CBS interview with the WFP director was taped Friday; adds that Netanyahu will speak before hernia surgery on Sunday.; Updates Media.
A crowded hospital in central Gaza was struck by an Israeli airstrike on Sunday, resulting in the death of two Palestinians and the injury of another 15, as well as nearby journalists.
An Associated Press reporter recorded the airstrike and its aftermath at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, where numerous people, including women and children, were seeking shelter after fleeing their homes elsewhere in the war-ravaged territory. There was chaos and distress.
The Israeli military stated that it targeted a command center of the Islamic Jihad militant group and insisted that the hospital’s operations were not affected.
Since the war started nearly six months ago, tens of thousands of people have sought refuge in Gaza’s hospitals, considering them relatively safe from airstrikes. Israel accuses Hamas and other militants of using medical facilities, and troops have raided several hospitals.
Israeli troops have been conducting raids on Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest, for almost two weeks and claim to have engaged in intense battles with militants in and around the medical compound. The military reported finding numerous hidden weapons.
Only a third of Gaza’s hospitals are partially operational, and Israeli airstrikes continue to cause casualties daily. Doctors say they often have to treat patients on the hospital floors due to lack of beds and perform surgeries without anesthesia and other vital medical supplies.
The casualties from Sunday’s airstrike were on the floor of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, gasping while receiving treatment. One person even clung to the underside of a stretcher that was holding someone else.
An international team of doctors who recently visited the hospital expressed horror at the war’s gruesome impact on Palestinian children. The World Health Organization director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stated that around 9,000 patients urgently require evacuation abroad for lifesaving care.
Not far from Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, dozens of Palestinian Christians gathered at the Holy Family Church to celebrate Easter, with incense filling the rare building that seemed untouched by war. Attendee Winnie Tarazi mentioned, “We are here with sadness.” Around 600 people are seeking shelter in the compound.
The war began when Hamas-led militants crossed the border on Oct. 7 and rampaged across southern Israel, leading to the death of approximately 1,200 people and the capture of around 250 hostages taken back to Gaza. Last year, over 100 captives were released in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Israel responded to the assault with one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns in recent history, resulting in around 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million population being displaced from their homes. More than half of the population is currently seeking shelter in the southern city of Rafah, where Israel plans a ground offensive despite warnings of catastrophe from allies and humanitarian groups.
The United Nations and its partners are warning that famine could happen in the devastated and mostly isolated northern Gaza as soon as this month. Humanitarian officials are saying that deliveries by sea and air are not sufficient, and that Israel needs to allow much more aid to come by road. Egypt has mentioned that thousands of trucks are waiting. The top U.N. court has instructed Israel to open more land crossings and take other actions to deal with the crisis.
Cindy McCain, the head of the World Food Program, told CBS that WFP was only able to get nine trucks into Gaza on Thursday, the day before the interview was recorded. “That’s nothing. We just cannot continue this way,” she said, calling for unrestricted access. “People are going to die otherwise, and they already are dying.”
Gaza’s Health Ministry reported on Sunday that at least 32,782 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war, including 77 whose bodies were brought to hospitals in the last 24 hours. The ministry’s count does not distinguish between civilians and fighters, but it has stated that women and children make up about two-thirds of those killed.
Israel claims that over one-third of the dead are militants, though it has not provided evidence to support this, and it blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the group operates in residential areas. Gaza health officials have repeatedly rejected Israeli claims that militants operate in hospitals.
The United States, Qatar, and Egypt have been attempting to negotiate another cease-fire and hostage release since January. The cease-fire talks resumed in Cairo on Sunday, with little expectation of any breakthrough.
Hamas is insisting that any agreement result in the end of the war and the withdrawal of all Israeli forces.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has turned down those demands and asserts that Israel will keep fighting until it has dismantled Hamas’ military and governing capabilities. However, he is facing increasing pressure from families of the hostages, some of whom have joined large demonstrations calling for early elections to replace him.
On Saturday night, families of hostages announced that weekly protests would now take place on the streets of Israel.
Netanyahu was supposed to address the media before undergoing hernia surgery on Sunday.
