Pregnant woman, two others killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza

Israeli airstrikes in Gaza on Wednesday killed a pregnant woman and two other Palestinians in separate attacks on Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip and Khan Younes in the south, local sources reported.

In Beit Lahia’s Tal al-Zaatar area, an Israeli bombardment killed a woman three months into her pregnancy and injured five other civilians. Meanwhile, in Khan Younes’ al-Qarara town, a drone strike targeted a gathering of civilians, killing two and wounding three others.

Since October 7, Israeli military operations in Gaza have resulted in catastrophic casualties. Over 44,282 Palestinians have been killed, with 104,880 others injured, according to reports. Among the dead and wounded, a significant majority are reportedly women and children.

An estimated 10,000 people remain unaccounted for, believed to be trapped or dead beneath the rubble of destroyed homes across the Strip.

The Israeli assault has also triggered a mass displacement crisis, with nearly two million people forcibly uprooted. Most have been driven to the overcrowded southern city of Rafah near the Egyptian border, marking the largest Palestinian exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

International and Palestinian organizations have condemned the scale of civilian suffering, calling for urgent humanitarian intervention and accountability amidst the relentless bombardment.