Civil Defense reports 19 killed from Israeli strikes

On Wednesday, Gaza's civil defense reported 19 deaths resulting from Israeli airstrikes on the Palestinian territory overnight.

"Our teams transported 19 dead bodies, mostly children, and dozens of injured after air raids conducted by Israeli warplanes in various areas of the Gaza Strip last night and early today," Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesperson for the civil defense, stated on Wednesday morning to AFP.

Israeli military intensified its offensive on the Gaza Strip in recent days, with the declared aim of destroying the Hamas movement and recovering Israeli hostages held in the Palestinian territory.

Hostages were abducted during an attack carried out on Oct. 7, 2023, by commandos from Hamas infiltrated from the nearby Gaza Strip, triggering the ongoing war.

Gaza's civil defense previously reported at least 44 deaths on Tuesday, mostly children and women, due to Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.

"We will take control of the entire territory," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed on Monday. He previously expressed willingness to consider an agreement that would end the offensive, contingent on the "exile" of Hamas and the "disarmament" of the territory. Hamas, which seized power in Gaza in 2007, rejects such demands.

Signaling a stalemate, Israel announced the recall of its lead negotiators sent to Doha, leaving a team behind, after the Qatari mediator lamented the lack of progress.

Amid the catastrophic humanitarian situation, the European Union will review its association agreement with Israel, effective since 2000, announced its foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. This revision is supported by 17 member states, according to Paris. The United Kingdom has stated it will suspend free trade agreement negotiations with Israel.

The escalation of the offensive is "morally unjustifiable, completely disproportionate, and counterproductive," criticized British foreign affairs chief David Lammy. Responding to London’s announcement, the Israeli Foreign Ministry warned that "external pressures will not divert Israel from its path to defend its existence and security."

Regarding Kallas’s announcement, it "reflects a complete misunderstanding of the complex reality Israel faces," and "encourages Hamas to stay its course," the Israeli diplomatic spokesperson reacted.

The October 7 attack resulted in 1,218 Israeli deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data. Out of the 251 hostages taken then, 57 remain held in Gaza, with 34 declared dead by the military. The Israeli retaliation campaign has resulted in at least 53,573 deaths in Gaza, predominantly civilians, according to health ministry data from Hamas, considered reliable by the U.N.