Israeli strikes kill 14 in Gaza, destroy heavy machinery needed for rubble clearance

Israeli air attacks overnight killed at least 14 Palestinians—mostly women and children—and destroyed bulldozers and other heavy equipment supplied by Egypt and Qatar to clear war debris in Gaza, local authorities said on Tuesday.

Palestinian Civil Defense personnel put out a fire burning in destroyed tents of internally displaced Palestinians following an Israeli air strike in Gaza City.

EPA/MOHAMMED SABER

Separate Israeli strikes in Lebanon reportedly killed two people, including a Sunni Islamist activist.

Gaza casualties and equipment loss

Nine people, including four children, died when an air‑strike levelled a multi‑storey home in Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital. In the Jabaliya refugee camp, another strike killed a family of five, Gaza’s emergency services said.

The Jabaliya al‑Nazla municipality added that nine bulldozers and other aid‑donated machinery were wiped out in a strike on its depot, hampering efforts to reopen roads and rescue survivors.

A Gaza denunciano i raid aerei israeliani della scorsa notte sui depositi di ruspe e automezzi pesanti del comune di Jabaliya e di altre amministrazioni. Bombardamenti che hanno reso inutilizzabili mezzi essenziali per salvare feriti sotto case colpiti e rimuovere le macerie pic.twitter.com/Tc1r6RoO0t

— michele giorgio (@michelegiorgio2) April 22, 2025

Israel’s military made no immediate comment, saying it targets Hamas militants and blames civilian deaths on the group’s use of densely populated areas.

Lebanon strikes

In Lebanon, an Israeli drone strike near Beirut killed Hussein Atwi, a member of the country’s Muslim Brotherhood branch, the group said. Another Israeli strike in Tyre Province killed one person, Lebanon’s health ministry reported. Despite a November ceasefire with Hezbollah, Israel continues to strike what it says are militant targets; Lebanese officials report 190 dead and 485 wounded since then.

Hamas signals ‘unprecedented flexibility’ for peace talks

On Tuesday, Qatari and Egyptian mediators proposed a new, five‑to‑seven‑year ceasefire that would include the release of all Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a formal end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the war will continue until Hamas is destroyed or disarmed and all hostages are returned, with Israel retaining indefinite “security zones” in Gaza.

War toll

Gaza’s Hamas‑run health ministry says Israel’s 18‑month campaign has killed more than 51,000 Palestinians, largely women and children. Israel claims to have killed about 20,000 Hamas fighters but has provided no evidence.

The decades-long conflict was reignited after Hamas killed some 1,200 people in southern Israel on 7 Oct 2023 and took 251 hostages; 59 remain captive, 24 believed alive.

(jh)

Source: Polskie Radio 24, AP News