A Palestinian television channel has reported that five of its journalists were killed in an Israeli airstrike in central Gaza. The incident occurred while they were in a Quds Today van parked outside al-Awda hospital, where one of the journalists’ wives was about to give birth.
The channel released footage showing the burning vehicle, marked with “press” labels on the back doors. In response, the Israeli Air Force stated it targeted a vehicle carrying members of the armed group Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), claiming they took measures to minimize civilian casualties.
However, verification of the claims from both sides remains unconfirmed. Quds Today is associated with the PIJ, which previously participated in the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, sparking the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
In related developments, at least five people were reported killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza City, with an additional 20 injured in the al-Zeitoun neighborhood, according to local sources. The Israeli military has yet to comment on these reports.
In a heartbreaking account, the father of a two-week-old girl in Gaza revealed that his daughter froze to death in a tent, marking her as the third child to die under similar circumstances within a week. Mahmoud Ismail Al-Faseeh described waking up to find his daughter, Sila, convulsing in the cold. Tragically, she passed away from hypothermia after being rushed to the hospital.
The situation in Gaza remains dire, with the family sheltering in an area designated as a humanitarian zone but nonetheless subjected to air strikes. The head of pediatrics at Nasser Hospital reported two additional infants, aged three days and one month, were admitted after dying from hypothermia in recent days.
As hopes for a ceasefire wane, both Hamas and Israel have exchanged accusations over the stalled negotiations. Hamas claims the Israeli government is introducing “new conditions,” while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alleges that Hamas is reneging on previously established understandings for a potential ceasefire.
The ongoing conflict has taken a devastating toll, with recent reports indicating over 45,000 Palestinians have been killed, and nearly two million people—90% of Gaza’s population—have been displaced due to Israeli military actions in response to last year’s Hamas attack, which resulted in approximately 1,200 Israeli casualties and 251 hostages taken into Gaza.
