Relatives of those trapped express fears that up to 50 individuals remain buried beneath the debris.
In a devastating escalation, the Israeli military has killed-suspected-herdsmen-attack-benue/” title=”Tragedy Strikes: Two … in Suspected Herdsmen Attack on Benue Community”>reportedly killed no fewer than 25 members of a single family in Gaza City’s Sabra district amid intensified bombardments across the blockaded territory.
During the early hours of Sunday, Israeli aircraft targeted a cluster of residences in Sabra, where Israeli armored units have been advancing since late August as part of a broader operation aimed at capturing and dismantling the area.
Rescue efforts have so far succeeded in pulling at least 17 survivors from the wreckage, with emergency teams and relatives continuing to dig by hand. Family members at the scene have voiced grave concerns that as many as 50 people remain trapped beneath the collapsed structures.
Urgently appealing for assistance, the family implored the international community to intervene, describing how they can still hear faint cries from those buried alive.
“We call on the world to help us,” one relative pleaded. “Our loved ones are entombed under the rubble. Their screams echo beneath, yet we cannot reach them.”
He further reported that Israeli drones have been targeting those attempting to rescue survivors.
“Each time we try to approach, drones open fire. For every five rescuers who attempt to reach them, four are killed, and only one manages to survive,” he added.
Videos circulating on social media depict casualties being hurriedly transported in a small vehicle amid a crowd. One clip captures a mother wailing over the loss of “all my children” in the strike on Sabra, located south of Gaza City.
In a separate air raid on the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, seven Palestinians-including four minors-were killed, according to emergency sources. The strike reportedly occurred near a clinic run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported on Saturday afternoon that since the conflict’s outbreak in October 2023, at least 65,283 Palestinians have been killed and 166,575 wounded by Israeli forces.
Additionally, the ministry confirmed four more deaths linked to starvation and famine caused by the siege, raising that toll to 440, including 147 children.
On Sunday, the Israeli military continued demolishing buildings as part of its campaign to forcibly displace hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and take control of Gaza City, despite widespread international condemnation and protests from families of detainees held within the enclave.
Many Palestinians remain confined indoors, reluctant to venture outside due to the persistent threat posed by drone strikes and remotely operated explosive devices planted along roads and within displacement camps, according to Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud reporting from the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
“Movement is severely restricted by these explosives, and the air remains thick with smoke,” he explained.
Israeli military estimates suggest that over 450,000 residents have been forcibly uprooted from Gaza City since early September, though Hamas disputes this figure, claiming fewer than 300,000 have been displaced and approximately 900,000 remain in the city.
The Israeli army announced on Sunday that three divisions are spearheading a ground offensive in Gaza City and northern Gaza, with an additional division active in Khan Younis to the south. The military asserted that its forces neutralized “numerous militants en route to executing terror attacks” within the last 24 hours.
Pope Leo condemned the forced displacement of civilians in Gaza on Sunday, stating, “Alongside the church leaders in the Holy Land, I reiterate that a future built on violence, forced exile, and vengeance is no future at all.”
