As Israel's aggression expands in the central Gaza Strip, civilian casualties rise amid shelling of residential homes in Deir el-Balah and al-Zawaida refugee camp.
At least 15 civilians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on homes housing four families on Thursday night. Dozens of people were injured and others were left under the rubble.
Sumayya Ahmed, an elderly woman who was in the residential building that was attacked in Deir el-Balah, said her relatives were preparing for bed when the attack occurred around 10:30 p.m.
“My sister, her husband and her children were killed,” she said. “Many of the other children were trapped under furniture, screaming for help.”
“Below us are two other families, all missing. They are all gone,” she added.
The doctors were only able to remove the bodies and the wounded in the morning. Ahmed said dozens of people were taking shelter in the building, including family members and friends displaced from the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in the north.
“Our house there was destroyed. Our children were killed,” she said.
According to her, this is not the first time that Israeli forces have attacked the vicinity of the building. Before Wednesday night's attack, multiple airstrikes had caused damage to windows and parts of the kitchen, Ahmed said.
