‘At least 16’ killed in latest Israeli attacks on Gaza – as 10 children arrive in UK for NHS treatment
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At least 16 people are said to have died overnight in Israeli attacks in Gaza – as the first group of 10 children arrived in the UK for urgent NHS treatment.
Officials said more than half of those killed in the latest attacks were in Gaza City, where Israel this week began a major ground offensive.
A mother and her child died at an apartment in the city’s Shati refugee camp, according to the Shifa hospital.
The al-Adwa and Nasser hospitals said other victims included a pregnant woman – among three killed when a house was hit in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza – and two parents and their child in the Muwasi area west of Khan Younis.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) launched its ground assault on Tuesday, in what it called a “new phase” in its bid to destroy Hamas and force the release of the remaining hostages.
It said it was looking into the deaths caused by the latest strikes.
Troops and tanks continued to push deeper into Gaza City on Wednesday despite widespread condemnation of the attempt to take full control of the city.
UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has called the operation “utterly reckless and appalling”.
Ms Cooper – who last night helped greet the pro-Israel President Trump – said it would “only bring more bloodshed, kill more innocent civilians & endanger the remaining hostages”.
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Meanwhile, 10 critically ill and injured children from Gaza have arrived in Britain for medical care alongside 50 companions, the World Health Organisation said on Wednesday.
It said they were first evacuated to Jordan and that “robust” security checks were undertaken before the group got approval to travel.
The foreign secretary said the children were “unable to get the medical care they need to survive” in Gaza.
More are expected to arrive in the coming weeks, in what Health Secretary Wes Streeting said “reflects the very best of our NHS values – compassion, care and expertise when it matters most”.
A small number of children were previously brought to the UK and are being treated privately through the Project Pure Hope initiative.
Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from Israel. Pic: Reuters
It comes as a coalition of aid groups today urged the international community to do more to stop Israel’s attacks, which it said had caused “an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe”.
“States must use every available political, economic, and legal tool at their disposal to intervene. Rhetoric and half measures are not enough. This moment demands decisive action,” said a statement signed by the heads of more than 20 organisations working in Gaza.
The call comes a day after a UN commission said Israel was committing genocide in Gaza – a claim the country vehemently denies as “distorted and false”.
Sky News analysis shows thousands of families remain in crowded tent camps in Gaza City, with the UN estimating last week that a million people remain there. Israel, however, believes 40% of the population has already fled south.
Displaced Palestinians are fleeing northern Gaza as the new offensive escalates. Pic: Reuters
Many are taking what little they can and attempting the perilous journey south after Israel warned them to evacuate ahead of it new offensive.
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The IDF said another route south for those fleeing would open from noon local time on Wednesday, running along Salah al-Din street along Gaza’s coastline, for two days.
Israel has not said how long its Gaza City operation will last, but that it will involve both air and ground forces and the number of soldiers will increase over the coming days.
It insists it takes strenuous efforts to issue warnings and avoid civilian casualties, but that it’s complicated by Hamas deliberately embedding itself in civilian areas.
Health officials in Gaza say nearly 65,000 people have died in the two years of the war – a figure that does not specify the number of Hamas members killed.
The terror attack on Israel in October 2023 killed around 1,200 and saw 251 taken hostage. Forty-eight remain in Gaza, but fewer then half are though to still be alive.
