Israeli strikes killed at least 12 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, mostly women and children, officials said on Wednesday, as the nearly 15-month war ground on into the new year with no end in sight.
One strike hit a home in the Jabaliya area of northern Gaza, the most isolated and heavily destroyed part of the territory, where Israel has been waging a major operation since early October. Gaza鈥檚 health ministry said seven people were killed, including a woman and four children, and at least a dozen other people were wounded.
Another strike overnight in the built-up Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza killed a woman and a child, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which received the bodies. The military ordered people to evacuate an area near Bureij overnight, saying it would strike there in response to recent rocket fire by Palestinian militants.
A third strike early Wednesday in the southern city of Khan Younis killed three people, according to the nearby Nasser Hospital and the European Hospital, which received the bodies.
The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and abducting around 250. About 100 hostages are still held in Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Israel鈥檚 air and ground offensive has killed over 45,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza鈥檚 health ministry. It says women and children make up more than half the fatalities but does not say how many of those killed were militants.
The Israeli military says it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian deaths because its fighters operate in dense residential areas. The army says it has killed 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
The war has caused widespread destruction and displaced some 90 per cent of Gaza鈥檚 population of 2.3 million, many of them multiple times.
Hundreds of thousands are living in tents on the coast as winter brings frequent rainstorms and temperatures drop below 10 degrees Celsius at night. At least six infants and another person have died of hypothermia, according to the health ministry.
American and Arab mediators have spent nearly a year trying to broker a ceasefire and hostage release, but those efforts have repeatedly stalled. Hamas has demanded a lasting truce, while Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanayhu has vowed to keep fighting until 鈥榯otal victory鈥� over the militants.
More than 82,000 Israelis moved abroad in 2024 and only 33,000 people immigrated to the country, Israel鈥檚 Central Bureau of Statistics said. Another 23,000 Israelis returned after long periods abroad.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people gathered on Istanbul鈥檚 Galata Bridge on New Year鈥檚 Day to express solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Demonstrators waved Turkish and Palestinian flags and chanted 鈥楩ree Palestine鈥� in the protest, organized by the National Will Platform, a coalition of more than 300 pro-Palestinian and Islamic groups.
Bilal Erdogan, the son of president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, addressed the crowd, urging support for Gaza and condemning Israel鈥檚 actions there. He referred to the recent ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad by rebel forces.
鈥楳uslims in Syria were determined, patient and they achieved victory. After Syria, Gaza will emerge victoriously from the siege,鈥� he said.
Drone video showed thousands of people filling the bridge and the adjacent Emin枚n眉 and Sirkeci districts.
President Erdogan has been a fierce critic of the Israeli offensive in Gaza.
