Pregnant Mother among Victims As Israel Bombs Gaza ‘Safe Zone’
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Israeli forces struck southern Gaza’s al-Mawasi on Monday, killing a pregnant mother, her husband and their child inside a tent.
The area had been declared a “safe humanitarian zone” by Israel, yet residents say it has been repeatedly targeted, deepening doubts over whether any location in Gaza is truly protected.
Strikes also hit Gaza City, where Israeli ground troops have pushed into neighborhoods including Tal al-Hawa and Nassr, flattening residential blocks. Civil defense crews report dozens trapped under rubble that remains unreachable.
Hospitals in central and southern Gaza confirmed further deaths. Six people were killed in a house west of Deir el-Balah, while three members of a family died in Khan Younis when their tent was hit.
Near the Netzarim Corridor, witnesses said Israeli forces opened fire on people seeking aid. No casualty figures were immediately available.
Local hospitals told Al Jazeera Arabic that at least 11 Palestinians were killed in separate attacks during the day.
Despite the mounting civilian toll, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood alongside US President Donald Trump in Washington to endorse a 20-point plan for ending the war. Hamas officials are still reviewing the proposal.
The plan has been welcomed by a number of regional and Western states, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Italy, France, the United Kingdom and the Palestinian Authority.
But Palestinians in Gaza voiced suspicion, questioning the scope of a proposed foreign stabilization force and pointing to vague provisions that could extend Israeli control indefinitely.
Omar Baddar, a Palestinian-American analyst, said the plan’s core problem lies in a clause allowing Israel to maintain a “security perimeter” inside Gaza without a withdrawal timeline.
“That is simply a recipe for long-term failure,” he said.
“Palestinians are being asked, once again, to live as a captive population under total Israeli control, with no prospect of freedom.”
Trump described the initiative as “historic.”
It calls for Hamas to be fully disarmed and removed from governance, terms critics say amount to enforced capitulation.
For residents inside Gaza, the debate feels remote. Bombardments continue hourly, leaving many with little expectation that any foreign plan will halt systematic destruction in Gaza.
Since October 2023, Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed at least 66,055 people and wounded 168,346, according to Gaza health authorities.
