Israeli strikes killed at least 17 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on New Year’s Day, mostly women and children, officials said, as the nearly 15-month war ground on into the new year.
The Israeli strikes were conducted in northern Gaza’s Jabalia, the central Bureij refugee camp, Gaza City, and southern Khan Younis.
Among the affected areas was Jabaliya in northern Gaza, where a strike hit a home, leaving seven people dead. Gaza’s Health Ministry identified the victims as a woman, four children, and two others, with over a dozen injured in the attack.
In another overnight strike in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, a woman and a child lost their lives, as confirmed by Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which received the bodies. “Are you celebrating? Enjoy as we die. For a year and a half, we have been dying,” said a man carrying the body of a child.
“The world welcomed the New Year with celebrations and festivities, while we witnessed 2025 begin with the first Israeli massacre in the town of Jabalia just after midnight,” Gaza’s civil defense agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP. “Fifteen people were martyred and more than 20 were injured” in the strike on a house where displaced people were living, he said.
Ongoing conflict and heavy toll
The conflict, now in its 15th month, began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel. The assault killed around 1,200 people and resulted in the abduction of approximately 250 hostages. While about 100 hostages remain in Gaza, reports suggest a third of them may have died.
Israeli air and ground operations have killed more than 45,500 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Over half of these fatalities are reported to be women and children.
The Israeli military asserts it targets only militants, holding Hamas responsible for civilian casualties due to its operations in densely populated areas. The military claims to have killed 17,000 Hamas fighters but has provided no evidence to substantiate this figure.
The war has displaced approximately 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, forcing many to seek shelter multiple times. Hundreds of thousands now live in makeshift tents along the coast, enduring harsh winter conditions. With temperatures dropping below 10°C (50°F) at night, at least four infants have succumbed to hypothermia.
Ceasefire talks remain stalled
Efforts by American and Arab mediators to negotiate a ceasefire and secure hostage releases have made little progress. Hamas demands a lasting ceasefire, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue military operations until achieving “total victory” over the militants.
Sami al-Arian, director of the Center for Islam and Global Affairs at Istanbul Zaim University, warned that the international community’s inability to stop Israel’s violent assault on Gaza will have profound and enduring impacts on global standards and norms.
“The international community hasn’t been doing anything, it’s really quite toothless….. Israel is controlling the situation for a long time because none of the actors – with very few exceptions such as the Houthis in Yemen – are willing to actually force Israel to follow international law,” al-Arian told Al Jazeera.
As the conflict persists, the toll on civilian lives and infrastructure in Gaza continues to mount, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis.