An Israeli air attack on a residential apartment in western Gaza City killed at least five people and severely wounded several others in the early hours of Saturday, according to Gaza’s Civil Defence agency and staff at al-Shifa Hospital. Hospital sources said eight Palestinians died across Gaza that day, including one in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza and two who died from wounds sustained in earlier Israeli attacks.
The strike hit the al-Asala building in the crowded Remal neighbourhood while residents were sleeping, without prior warning, Al Jazeera’s Hani al-Shaer reported. “We heard fighter jets getting louder, then three strikes followed,” al-Shaer said. The attack penetrated the targeted apartment, tore through the floors below and buried people beneath rubble. Fires burned for at least an hour before Civil Defence crews extinguished them. Remal is home to thousands of displaced people living in makeshift camps, and crews were still searching for missing people and bodies as Israeli drones remained overhead.
Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary said two huge explosions struck near the al-Haid roundabout at about 2am, killing at least three women, a child and a young man. She described “another terrifying night” and said the blasts left the entire neighbourhood shaken.
The Israeli military said it targeted the building in an attempt to kill Ali al-Amoudi, whom it identified as deputy chairman of Hamas’s political bureau in Gaza. It claimed the apartment was used by Hamas but said the results of the attack remained under review and did not confirm whether al-Amoudi was killed.
Among those killed were Christian mother and daughter Maysa Khader Ibrahim Abu Daoud, also known as Ayyad, and Mary Hafez Michel al-Najjar. Friends and relatives attended their funeral at the Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza City. “I lost my mother and my grandmother today,” Fouad Al-Najjar said. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem expressed grief and offered condolences to their families and Gaza’s Christian community.
The strike followed an Israeli drone attack on Thursday that killed a Palestinian man and wounded several others in southern Gaza. Doctors are struggling to save those injured because medical supplies and equipment remain restricted, Khoudary said.
The World Health Organization said delays in delivering medicines, prosthetics and other vital supplies have had “devastating consequences.” It also said the Rafah crossing, controlled by Israeli forces and open only for limited movements, is particularly important for patients seeking medical treatment abroad.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 74,000 Palestinians have been killed and 175,000 injured since the war began on October 7, 2023. The true toll is likely higher because many people remain missing. Since last year’s ceasefire, at least 1,400 people have been killed and nearly 5,000 injured.
Original Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/3/israeli-air-attack-on-gaza-city-apartment-kills-at-least-five
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Publish Date: 2026-10-04 05:41:00
