International Desk

At least 12 Palestinians, mostly women and children, were killed in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza as the war, now in its 15th month, persists into the new year, officials reported Wednesday.

A strike in the Jabaliya area of northern Gaza, heavily damaged by earlier military operations, killed seven people, including four children and a woman, and injured over a dozen others, Gaza’s Health Ministry stated. Another airstrike overnight hit the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, killing a woman and a child, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

In Khan Younis, a southern city, three more people died following another Israeli attack, reports from Nasser and European Hospitals confirmed.

The Israeli military said the Bureij strike targeted militants launching rockets at Israel. They also issued evacuation orders for the area.

The conflict began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages. Israel’s military offensive has since killed over 45,000 Palestinians, including women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Israel claims 17,000 of those killed were militants, though evidence has not been provided.

The war has displaced nearly 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, many forced to relocate multiple times. Thousands now live in tents along the coast, facing harsh winter conditions. At least seven people, including six infants, have reportedly died from hypothermia.

With food aid limited and prices soaring, many rely on charity kitchens for survival. AP footage captured long lines of children waiting for meals, often just rice, at one such kitchen in Deir al-Balah.

Efforts by American and Arab mediators to negotiate a ceasefire and hostage release have repeatedly failed. Hamas demands a permanent truce, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue fighting until achieving “total victory.”

Meanwhile, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics reported that 82,000 Israelis emigrated in 2024, while 33,000 immigrated and another 23,000 returned after long stays abroad. This marks a second consecutive year of net emigration, raising fears of a “brain drain” in sectors like medicine and technology.

In a separate incident, Israel’s military acknowledged “operational burnout” and disciplinary lapses in the November deaths of a 70-year-old archaeologist and a soldier in southern Lebanon. Zeev Erlich, a prominent West Bank settler and Jewish history researcher, was killed while exploring an archaeological site in a combat zone. An investigation is underway into how he entered the area.

Despite military restrictions, reports have surfaced of Israeli civilians entering Gaza and Lebanon in support of a permanent Israeli presence, adding further complexity to the situation.