'Pulled Children From Rubble In Pieces': Israel Pummels Gaza City
As drones buzzed overhead in the morning sun, Palestinians gently lifted from the rubble a blanket holding a body, the latest casualty of Israel's relentless bombardment of Gaza City.
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Palestinians retrieved body remains wrapped in blankets from beneath the debris as drones hovered in the morning light, another victim of Israel's continuous bombardment of Gaza City.
This heartbreaking scenario has become commonplace in Gaza Strip's primary urban center, where Israel has escalated airstrikes leading up to Tuesday's ground offensive.
Nighttime bombing transformed a residential area in northern Gaza City into mountains of debris. One desperate individual reached beneath concrete slabs, searching frantically for survivors.
"The building housed approximately 50 people, including women and children. I cannot understand the reason for this bombing," said Abu Abd Zaqout, mentioning that his uncle's family resided there.
"What justification exists for killing peacefully sleeping children, fragmenting their bodies?" he questioned.
"We extracted children's remains in fragments."
Destruction surrounded the strike location, with rescue workers appearing tiny against massive piles of crushed concrete and twisted metal.
Nearby, one family attempted to salvage possessions into a vehicle parked on a barely navigable, debris-covered street.
"They bombed an entire neighborhood overnight, destroying three houses and adjacent buildings," recounted Gaza City resident Mohammed Al-Bardawil.
"All casualties are children, elderly individuals, and women. They remain trapped beneath the rubble."
Gaza's civil defence agency reported at least 12 fatalities, including children, from the strike, with "numerous civilians" still missing beneath the debris.
When AFP contacted Israeli military officials, they indicated they would attempt to investigate the incident.
Due to media restrictions and accessibility challenges in the territory, AFP cannot independently verify details or casualty figures provided by Gaza's civil defence agency or Israeli military sources.
'No Humanity Left'Israel announced Tuesday the commencement of its anticipated ground offensive on Gaza City, reporting troops advancing toward the central district.
The United Nations recently estimated nearly one million people inhabited Gaza City and surrounding areas, from which Israel has consistently urged evacuation southward.
An Israeli military representative estimated over 350,000 people had evacuated the city before the ground offensive began.
Ibrahim Al-Besheiti, a 35-year-old resident of Gaza City's Al-Sabra neighborhood, told AFP the situation was "already catastrophic".
"Aircraft noise is constant—quadcopters and warplanes dominate the sky. We're terrified, and many neighboring residents have fled. Our future remains uncertain," he explained.
Besheiti described overnight bombing near his residence as so intense that pressure waves shattered windows and dislodged doors from their frames.
"We heard cries from beneath the rubble," he recounted.
"This recurring scene terrifies us and confirms that humanity has vanished from this world."
In northern Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, 38-year-old Maysa Abu Jamaa described unceasing gunfire from military vehicles, drone attacks, and artillery bombardment.
A massive overnight explosion awakened her family, she said, adding that her children were "terrified, screaming and crying in fear".
"We exist in perpetual darkness without visible escape."
The civil defence agency reported Israeli forces had killed at least 36 people since dawn across the Palestinian territory, where the war to eliminate Hamas has continued for almost two years.
The October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel resulted in 1,219 deaths, primarily civilians, according to AFP's compilation of official figures.
Israel's retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed at least 64,964 people, also mostly civilians, according to the territory's health ministry figures, which the United Nations considers reliable.