While the world rang in the new year with festivities, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip saw 2025 begin with Israeli military launching deadly air strikes on the strip. Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli strikes killed at least 25 people in the Strip on first day of the year. The year’s first deadly strike targeted a house sheltering displaced people in the town of Jabalia, killing 15 people and injuring more than 20 people. Since October 6, the Israeli military has mounted a major land and air offensive in northern Gaza, particularly targeting Jabalia and its adjacent refugee camp. Two further Israeli strikes in Gaza yesterday killed another 10 people, including children, the agency said. Israel’s military campaign has killed at least 45,553 people in Gaza since October 2023, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Gaza health ministry. The bombing campaign has displaced nearly all of Gaza’s 2.4 million people at least once. The displaced population is now also faced with falling temperatures and heavy rains, which have flooded thousands of tents across the territory. Medics and families says babies are dying from harsh winter. Gaza’s government officials have warned of the impact of more harsh weather expected in the coming days, saying it posed a “real threat to two million displaced people,” the majority of whom live in tents. A United Nations report published this week found that Israeli strikes on and near hospitals in the Gaza Strip had left healthcare in the territory nearing total collapse. The report by the UN human rights office said such strikes raised grave concerns about Israel’s compliance with international law, citing potential war crimes and crimes against humanity. “Israel’s pattern of deadly attacks on and near hospitals in Gaza, and associated combat, pushed the healthcare system to the brink of total collapse, with catastrophic effect on Palestinians’ access to health and medical care,” the UN rights office said in a statement. The report said that between October 7, 2023, and June 30, 2024, there were at least 136 strikes on 27 hospitals and 12 other medical facilities. These strikes caused significant casualties among doctors, nurses, medics and other civilians. The world has failed the people of Gaza. It has failed to stop the genocide despite multiple calls by the United Nations General Assembly and global humanitarian and rights organisations. The war and killings of the Palestinians have continued unabated for about 15 months now. It is time for the global community to play its role effectively and compel both the parties to end this conflict.
