Hope and fear as tourists trickle back to Kashmir town after attack    Spain and Portugal scramble to restore power as officials chase cause of outage    Israel spy chief to step down after row with Netanyahu exposes deepening rifts    Saudi, Omani foreign ministers visit Rub' Al-Khali border crossing    From his own resources... Luminous lessons in leadership and humanity    Commerce Ministry recalls 6,500 Genesis cars due to risk of fire    Royal Institute of Traditional Arts implements Saudi-Chinese cultural exchange program    Localization in Saudi military industries rises to 19.35%    Logistics park for vehicles worth SR300 million to be set up at Dammam port    HONOR KSA expands its presence with new flagship Experience Store in Riyadh HONOR's first flagship store in KSA provides visitors with a premium experience, exciting offers and free services    Prince Sultan University launches first bachelor's program in language and media    Putin announces three-day Russian ceasefire in Ukraine from 8 May    Al-Falih: Eastern Province hosts 700 investment opportunities worth SR330 billion    Rock & Roll Hall of Fame picks Outkast but not Oasis    Duran leads Al Nassr past Yokohama Marinos into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Al Ahli cruise past Buriram into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi orchestra to perform at Sydney Opera House in May    Al Hilal thrash Gwangju to reach AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Deadly Israeli strike targeted 'spotter' on Beit Lahia building's roof, IDF official says
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 31 - 10 - 2024

An Israeli military official has told the BBC that it carried out a deadly strike on a five-story residential building in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza on Tuesday in response to seeing a "spotter" on the roof with binoculars observing Israeli forces.
Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said more than 90 Palestinians, including 25 children, were killed or missing beneath the rubble of the building, which collapsed as a result of the strike.
The military official said it was not a planned strike and troops did not know the building was being used as a shelter for displaced people.
They also said there were discrepancies between the number of casualties reported and what the military had observed.
The strike provoked a strong response from Israel's closest ally, the US, which described it as a "horrifying incident with a horrifying result" and demanded an explanation.
On Wednesday, after the military official had spoken to reporters, US state department spokesman Matthew Miller said Israel was "not doing enough to get us the answers that we have requested".
"They have said to us what they had said publicly, which is they're investigating the matter," he added.
Israel does not allow the BBC and other international media into Gaza to report independently, making it difficult to verify facts on the ground, so we rely on information from video footage and witness testimonies.
Videos posted on social media a few hours after the strike showed multiple bodies wrapped in blankets and people collecting body parts at the scene of the strike.
Umm Malik Abu Nasr later told BBC Arabic's Gaza Today programme on Tuesday that the strike destroyed her family's home and that she was among the survivors pulled from the rubble.
"At around 00:30 or 01:00, the Awda family house next to us was bombed," she said. "We rushed to help and host them but their daughter [died] in our home."
"At 04:00 the multi-storey house of the Abu Nasr family collapsed on top of us. They [Israel forces] bombed the house, which was housing about 300 displaced people who had fled their homes. These people sought to take refuge in our houses. We hosted them because they were just civilians and had nothing to do with resistance [Palestinian armed groups]."
"My husband and other young men are still under the rubble and have not been pulled out yet," she added. "My husband's cousin and her five children are still under the rubble."
The director of the nearby Kamal Adwan hospital — which only has two doctors and limited nursing staff following an Israeli raid last week — said in a voice message recorded on Tuesday that it had received the bodies of more than 25 people killed in the strike and that another 77 were trapped under the rubble.
About 45 injured, including children and women, had also been brought to the hospital either by horse-drawn carts or by people carrying them, Dr Hussam Abu Safiya added.
The UN's Middle East peace envoy, Tor Wennesland, said it was the latest in "a deadly series of recent mass casualty incidents, alongside a massive displacement campaign, in the north of Gaza that raises serious concerns about violations of humanitarian law".
Hundreds of people have reportedly been killed since the Israeli military launched a ground offensive in Beit Lahia as well as neighbouring Jabalia and Beit Hanoun on 6 October, saying it was acting against regrouping Hamas fighters.
More than 70,000 residents have fled to Gaza City, but the UN estimates that about 100,000 remain in dire conditions, with severe shortages of food, water and medical supplies.
The offensive has also forced the closure of essential services, including medical facilities, firefighting, search and rescue, water wells and bakeries.
Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the group's unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
More than 43,160 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry. — BBC


Clic here to read the story from its source.