Israeli airstrike kills 2 Palestinians in tent camp
Gaza hospital is hit; journalists wounded
DEIR AL-BALAH, GAZA STRIP » An Israeli airstrike hit a tent camp in the courtyard of a crowded hospital in central Gaza on Sunday, killing two Palestinians and wounding another 15, including journalists working nearby.
An Associated Press reporter filmed the strike and aftermath at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, where thousands of people have sheltered after fleeing their homes elsewhere in the war-ravaged territory. People including women and children scattered and cried out.
The Israeli military said it struck a command center of the Islamic Jihad militant group and claimed the hospital's functioning was not affected.
Tens of thousands of people have sought shelter in Gaza's hospitals since the start of the war nearly six months ago, viewing them as relatively safe from airstrikes. Israel accuses Hamas and other militants of operating in and around medical facilities, and troops have raided a number of hospitals.
Israeli troops have been raiding Shifa Hospital, Gaza's largest, for nearly two weeks and say they have fought battles with militants in and around the compound.
The military says it has killed scores of fighters, including senior Hamas operatives.
It said Sunday it had found numerous weapons hidden there.
Only a third of Gaza's hospitals are even partially functioning, while Israeli strikes kill and wound scores of people every day. Doctors say they are often forced to operate without anesthetic and other crucial supplies.
Those wounded in Sunday's strike lay on Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital floor and gasped while being treated, one clutching at the underside of a stretcher that held someone else.
An international team of doctors who recently visited the hospital said they were horrified by the war's gruesome impact on Palestinian children. The World Health Organization director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, says around 9,000 patients urgently need to be evacuated abroad for lifesaving care.
Not far from Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, dozens of Palestinian Christians gathered at the Holy Family Church to celebrate Easter, with incense wafting through the rare building that appeared untouched by war. “We are here with sadness,” attendee Winnie Tarazi said. About 600 people shelter in the compound.
Tens of thousands of Israelis thronged central Jerusalem on Sunday in the largest anti-government protest since the country went to war in October.
Protesters urged the government to reach a ceasefire deal to free dozens of hostages held in Gaza by
Hamas militants and to hold early elections.
Israeli society was broadly united immediately after Oct. 7, when Hamas killed some 1,200 people during a cross-border attack and took 250 others hostage.
Nearly six months of conflict have renewed divisions over the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, though the country remains largely in favor of the war.
Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas and bring all the hostages home, yet those goals have been elusive. While Hamas has suffered heavy losses, it remains intact.
Hostages' families believe time is running out, and they are getting more vocal about their displasure with Netanyahu.
Netanyahu's office says the Israeli leader would undergo surgery Sunday for a hernia.
Netanyahu's office said the hernia was discovered during a routine checkup, and that the prime minister will be under full anesthesia and unsconcious for the procedure.
Netanyahu, 74, has kept a full schedule.
Justice Minister Yariv Levin will serve as acting prime minister.