A new study reveals that Israel’s prolonged aerial and ground assault on Gaza over eight months has effectively decimated entire Palestinian families. The Associated Press (AP) asserts that the war’s effect on family units is unprecedented.
It found 60 Palestinian clans in which a minimum of 25 individuals, often of the same lineage, perished in bombings from October through December. The study was established on health ministry records in Gaza until March, internet death notices, social platforms, firsthand accounts from eye witnesses and survivors, and data from London’s Antiwars monitoring service.
Collecting the documentation posed challenges as often “no one survived,” AP stated. The high mortality rate among family groupings could be due to the fact that Palestinian families spanning multiple generations usually reside together in Apartment blocks and shared residences.
AP conducted in-depth investigations into ten Israeli attacks between October 7th and December 24th that resulted in 50 or more deaths. The strikes were executed on homes and refuges “where parents, children, grandparents were crowded together for safety”. The report cited specialists who suggested that the immense toll was probably caused by massive US-originated bombs, unsuitable for use in populated regions, that had been aimed at underground tunnels supposedly concealing Hamas fighters.
According to the AP, there was only one instance where a targeted Hamas commander was identified by Israel. The report also noted that there were no clear military targets and no forewarnings were issued. In previous Gaza military operations, Israeli forces have typically sent SMS texts or placed warning calls to residents living in buildings targeted for strikes.
The report included interviews with legal affairs expert Youssef Salem who departed northern Gaza for Istanbul with his wife and toddler daughter two years prior. Salem reported losing 173 loved ones in air strikes carried out by Israel in December. The death toll had risen to 270 by spring, reported AP.
In the agency’s inquiry of the final three strikes it was found that 106 people from eight families lost their lives in the Maghazi refugee camp located centrally in Gaza. Israel acknowledged in a ensuing statement that it “accidentally struck two immediate targets” while focusing on Hamas combatants and expressed remorse for the harm caused to bystanders.
Gazan independent analyst, Omar Shabaan, who comes from a family that has endured numerous personal losses, stated that none of the 400,000 families in Gaza have been left untouched. The assault hits everyone, encompassing families of every social class, the indigent, Bedouins, agriculturalists, tycoons, and affluent nationalists devoid of political affiliations. It is increasingly apparent that the social fabric of the region is under fire.
The attempts for a response from the press department of the Israeli government were unsuccessful.