Just when Palestinians in Ghaza were being extra cautious while observing their Eid by mourning the death of 1063 family members and friends, it is now evident they were worrying for the right reason. Israeli forces on Monday bombed a park near the beach in Gaza City as well as al-Shifa hospital, killing at least 14 Palestinians including eight children on the first day of the Eid al-Fitr holiday, medics said.
The strike on the park in al-Stai refugee camp — which reports suggested was a drone strike — hit the playground, killing 14 people, mostly children as they played with their families while wearing holiday clothes they had been given to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the end of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.
Eyewitnesses said that 43 were also injured in the strike, which some were calling an “Eid massacre.”
Director of reception at al-Shifa Hospital Ayman al-Sahbani said that a total of 14 bodies had arrived at the hospital as a result of the strike.
The other strike hit the outpatient clinic of al-Shifa Hospital, which is the main hospital in the besieged coastal enclave, but no casualties were reported.
Thousands of Palestinians have taken refuge in the al-Shifa Hospital, as 130,000 have fled their homes as Israeli authorities declared more than 43 percent of the Gaza Strip off-limits to civilians and destroyed more than 2,000 homes in recent weeks.
The attacks came a day after Palestinian fighters announced a 24-hour ceasefire beginning Sunday at 2 p.m. Israel refused to officially accept the ceasefire, but officials said they would restrain attacks to “retaliation” to Palestinian attacks.
Monday’s attacks brought the total Palestinian death toll to 1,077, with more than 6,300 injured.