Gaza night shrouded in grief as 'Israel' kills 13 overnight
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The overnight attacks targeted residential buildings in southwestern and western Gaza City amid preparations for a wider Israeli ground offensive.
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Palestinians pray over the bodies of people killed in an Israeli military strike as they gather outside al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, Monday, September 1, 2025. (AP)
Gaza’s Civil Defense agency reported on Tuesday that overnight Israeli airstrikes on an apartment and a residential building claimed the lives of 13 Palestinians.
Mahmoud Basal, a spokesperson for the agency, told AFP that Israeli warplanes targeted the top floor of a residential building in southwestern Gaza City, killing 10 Palestinians.
He added that Israeli helicopters struck an apartment in the city’s west, killing three more and injuring several others.
The strikes come as Israeli invading units prepare for a major offensive to occupy Gaza City, the largest urban center in the besieged Palestinian territory. Bombardments in the area have intensified in recent days, with warnings of an imminent evacuation.
The United Nations estimates that nearly one million people live in Gaza City and the surrounding areas, where famine has already been declared.
'Israel’s' Gaza campaign meets UN definition: Genocide scholars
The world’s leading association of genocide experts has passed a resolution on the genocide in Gaza, declaring that "Israel’s" military campaign in the Strip meets the legal definition of genocide under international law.
86% of voting members of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) supported the resolution, which states, "Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide in Article II of the United Nations Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948)."
The resolution comes as "Israel" faces a separate ICJ Gaza genocide case at The Hague, brought by South Africa. While "Israel" claims its campaign is in "self-defense," critics argue its systematic targeting of civilians, destruction of homes, and deprivation of aid and food amount to genocidal acts.
Since October 2023, "Israel’s" genocide has killed an estimated 63,000 Palestinians, displaced nearly the entire population, and devastated most of Gaza’s infrastructure.
Humanitarian impact on Palestinians
The IAGS resolution lists numerous actions that meet the threshold of genocide, such as "deliberate attacks against civilians, including children; starvation; deprivation of humanitarian aid, water, and fuel; sexual and reproductive violence; and forced displacement."
These conditions, coupled with widespread destruction, underscore the severity of the crisis. The humanitarian toll reflects not only mass civilian deaths but also ongoing Palestinian famine and displacement.
Hamas welcomed the declaration, with spokesperson Ismail al-Thawabta calling it a reinforcement of “documented evidence and facts presented before international courts.” He added that the decision places a “legal and moral obligation” on the international community to act.
Melanie O’Brien, IAGS president and professor of international law at the University of Western Australia, said, “This is a definitive statement from experts in the field of genocide studies that what is going on on the ground in Gaza is genocide.”
Other scholars stressed its significance. Sergey Vasiliev of the Open University in the Netherlands noted that the genocide determination “has become mainstream within academia, particularly in the field of genocide studies.”
The Gaza Ministry of Health said on Monday that the overall death toll from the ongoing Israeli aggression has risen to 63,557 martyrs and 160,660 injuries recorded since the beginning of the war on October 7, 2023. Between March 18, 2025, and today, 11,426 people have been killed and 48,619 injured, have been recorded.
