Haaretz: Israel Killed Women and Children While Claiming to Target Fighters
Gaza (Quds News Network)- An investigation by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz has exposed discrepancies in the Israeli army’s claims about its airstrikes in Gaza. The report reveals that while the army announced it was targeting Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters, most of those killed were civilians, including women and children.
Contradicting Official Statements
On Tuesday afternoon, the Israeli military released videos showing fighter jets taking off and helicopters preparing for attacks. The footage did not show any casualties. However, shortly after the airstrikes, hospitals in Gaza were overwhelmed with wounded and dead civilians.
Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, the director of Al-Shifa Hospital, described the situation as catastrophic. “By morning, we had 50 bodies in the emergency room and 30 more in the morgue. Many of the injured died because we couldn’t treat them,” he told Al Jazeera.
Dr. Sakib Rokadiya, a British volunteer doctor in Gaza, told AP News that hospitals were flooded with injured children. “It was child after child, young patient after young patient,” he said.
Doctors at Nasser Hospital recounted horrific injuries. An American pediatrician, Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan, described trying to triage patients amid the chaos. “A nurse was trying to resuscitate a boy with shrapnel in his heart. Another young man had lost most of his arm and was shaking in shock. A barefoot boy carried his little brother, whose foot had been blown off,” she said.
Dr. Mohammed Mustafa, an Australian doctor volunteering in Gaza, spoke in a video about the extreme shortages in medical supplies. “We ran out of painkillers, anesthesia, and basic supplies. Some girls had their legs amputated without anesthesia,” he said. “Most of the victims were women and children, many of them burned, missing limbs, or even beheaded.”
Israel Calls Children Fighters
According to the Health Ministry, the attack on March 17-18 killed 436 people, including 183 children and 94 women. However, Israeli media claimed that “around 400 militants” had been killed. Despite these claims, the Israeli army officially named only seven Hamas members as confirmed targets.
Among the victims was three-month-old Banan, who died alongside her parents and ten relatives in a bombing in Deir al-Balah. Another airstrike killed 17 members of the Jargon family in Rafah, including children and elderly grandparents.
A UNICEF statement described March 18 as “one of the deadliest days for children in the past year.” The UN Human Rights Office also condemned the use of “wide-impact weapons in densely populated areas,” warning that such actions could violate international law.
