Gaza City, April 9, 2025 – At least 35 Palestinians, including children, have been killed and 55 wounded in a series of intense Israeli airstrikes targeting the Shujayea district in northern Gaza City, according to Palestinian officials. Another 80 people are reported missing, feared buried under the rubble of destroyed homes.
The strikes, which occurred April 9, 2025 evening, targeted residential areas in the densely populated Shujayea neighborhood. Witnesses described scenes of chaos and devastation as rescuers struggled to pull survivors from the debris.
The Gaza Health Ministry, which is run by Hamas, has reported that at least 50,810 Palestinians have been killed and 115,688 wounded in Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza. The Government Media Office has updated its death toll to over 61,700, citing thousands of individuals missing under rubble and presumed dead. These numbers, while reported by Hamas-affiliated sources, reflect the immense scale of casualties within the besieged territory.
Meanwhile, medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported that an Israeli attack occurred near its clinic in al-Mawasi, a designated “safe zone” in southern Gaza. MSF condemned the incident, emphasizing the difficulty in providing critical medical assistance amidst the ongoing conflict and expressing concerns about the safety of healthcare workers and patients.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have yet to release a statement specifically addressing the Shujayea strikes, but have consistently stated their operations target Hamas militants and infrastructure, and that they take measures to minimize civilian casualties. These claims are difficult to independently verify given the ongoing conflict and restrictions on access to Gaza.
The current conflict was triggered by the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of at least 1,139 people in Israel and the abduction of over 200 hostages.
The escalating violence continues to draw international condemnation. [add specific quote from an international organization or country official here, e.g., “The UN Secretary-General has called for an immediate ceasefire and urged all parties to adhere to international humanitarian law”]. Calls for a lasting ceasefire and a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are intensifying as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens.
