An Israeli air attack struck a residential apartment building in the Remal neighbourhood of western Gaza City in the early hours of Saturday, killing at least five people and severely wounding several others, according to Gaza’s Civil Defence agency and staff at al-Shifa Hospital.
Early Morning Strike Destroys Remal Neighbourhood Building
The strike hit the al-Asala building while residents were asleep. Al Jazeera reported that the attack came without prior warning, penetrating the targeted apartment and tearing through the floors below to cause widespread destruction throughout the multistorey structure. Remal stands as one of Gaza City’s most crowded residential areas, currently sheltering thousands of displaced people in makeshift camps.
Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary described another terrifying night after two huge explosions shook the al-Haid roundabout at approximately 2:00 a.m. local time on Saturday. Two explosive drones were deployed by the Israeli military against a building, resulting in the deaths of a young man, a child, and at least three women. Fires burned for at least an hour before Palestinian Civil Defence crews managed to extinguish them.
Casualties Mount Across the Enclave Amid Ongoing Attacks
Hospital sources told Al Jazeera that a total of eight Palestinians died across Gaza on Saturday. This toll includes one person killed in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza and two others who succumbed to wounds sustained in earlier Israeli attacks. Among those identified in the Gaza City raids were two Christian women, Maysa Khader Ibrahim Abu Daoud (Ayyad) and her daughter Mary Hafez Michel al-Najjar (Abu Daoud), as reported by the Palestinian Wafa news agency, citing Ramzi Khoury, head of the Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine.
Friends and relatives gathered for the funeral of the mother and daughter at the Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza City on Saturday. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, expressed deep sorrow and grief over their tragic killing, extending heartfelt condolences to the families and the Christian community in Gaza. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem also issued a statement mourning the women and praying for an end to the war.
Military Justifications and the Humanitarian Toll on Medical Supplies
According to the Israeli military, the building was chosen as a target in a bid to eliminate Ali al-Amoudi—identified as the deputy chairman of Hamas’s political bureau in Gaza—while maintaining that the apartment served Hamas purposes. The military added that the results of the attack remained under review and did not confirm whether al-Amoudi was killed.
Meanwhile, medical personnel face severe constraints in treating the injured. According to doctors cited by Al Jazeera, saving the lives of those wounded remains extremely difficult because Israel continues to restrict medical supplies and instruments entering the territory. Destructive outcomes are unfolding as the World Health Organization points to persistent hold-ups in routing prosthetics, essential medicines, and additional supplies from Israel into Gaza, which in turn forces numerous individuals to wait in line at the Rafah crossing seeking medical care abroad.
