The death toll in Gaza has now exceeded forty thousand
Um ano após o ataque do Hamas que ceifou cerca de 1.200 vidas israelenses, a resposta militar de Israel continua a moldar — e a destruir — o cotidiano de Gaza. Na quarta-feira, ataques aéreos sobre o centro e o norte do território mataram pelo menos dezoito pessoas, entre elas cinco crianças e duas mulheres, muitas delas abrigadas em tendas improvisadas por famílias já deslocadas pela guerra. O número de mortos em Gaza ultrapassa agora quarenta mil, e o conflito se estende simultaneamente ao Líbano, enquanto o mundo observa o peso crescente que recai sobre os que menos têm onde se refugiar.
- Ataques aéreos israelenses atingiram acampamentos de deslocados em Nuseirat e Bureij, onde famílias viviam em tendas por falta de alternativa — a guerra chegou até o último refúgio disponível.
- Nove corpos, incluindo ao menos três crianças, foram confirmados na morgue do Hospital Al-Aqsa Martyrs por um jornalista da Associated Press, tornando o número incontestável.
- No campo de refugiados de Jabaliya, um dos espaços mais densamente habitados de Gaza desde 1948, um único ataque matou ao menos nove pessoas em meio a uma operação aérea e terrestre mais ampla.
- Israel combate simultaneamente Hamas em Gaza e Hezbollah no Líbano, sustentando uma campanha militar de dois fronts que não mostra sinais de desaceleração.
- Com mais de quarenta mil mortos desde outubro de 2023 e cerca de cem reféns ainda em poder do Hamas, a crise humanitária e o impasse político permanecem sem resolução à vista.
Na quarta-feira, o exército israelense realizou uma série de ataques aéreos no centro e no norte de Gaza, matando ao menos dezoito pessoas. Entre as vítimas estavam cinco crianças e duas mulheres, segundo autoridades palestinas. Dois dos ataques atingiram acampamentos de tendas em Nuseirat e Bureij, onde famílias deslocadas haviam encontrado abrigo precário no meio do território.
Nove corpos foram levados ao Hospital Al-Aqsa Martyrs, em Deir al-Balah. Um jornalista da Associated Press os viu na morgue do hospital, confirmando a contagem e a presença de ao menos três crianças entre os mortos. A equipe médica, exausta após meses de conflito, recebeu os corpos como tantos outros antes.
Mais ao norte, no campo de refugiados de Jabaliya — criado em 1948 e hoje um dos lugares mais superlotados de Gaza —, um ataque a uma estrutura residencial matou ao menos nove pessoas. Israel lançou esta semana uma operação aérea e terrestre mais ampla sobre o campo, intensificando a pressão sobre uma população já em condições extremas.
A campanha militar atual começou há cerca de um ano, quando militantes liderados pelo Hamas invadiram bases e comunidades israelenses, matando aproximadamente 1.200 pessoas e levando cerca de 250 como reféns. O Hamas ainda mantém cerca de cem prisioneiros em Gaza. Desde então, o número de mortos no território palestino ultrapassou quarenta mil. Israel conduz operações simultâneas contra o Hamas em Gaza e contra o Hezbollah no Líbano — enquanto os ataques de quarta-feira voltaram a recair sobre famílias em tendas, moradores de campos de refugiados e crianças que dormiam em suas casas.
The Israeli military carried out a series of airstrikes across central and northern Gaza on Wednesday, killing at least eighteen people. Among the dead were five children and two women, according to Palestinian officials who spoke with the Associated Press. The strikes were precise in their targeting but indiscriminate in their effect—two separate attacks hit tent encampments where displaced families had sought shelter in Nuseirat and Bureij, towns in the middle of the strip.
Nine of the bodies were brought to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the nearby city of Deir al-Balah. An Associated Press journalist entered the hospital morgue and saw them there, confirming the count and the presence of at least three children among them. The hospital staff, already stretched thin by months of conflict, processed the arrivals as they had processed so many others.
Further north, in the Jabaliya refugee camp, another strike hit a residential structure. The camp's civil defense agency, which operates under Hamas authority, reported that at least nine people died in that single attack. Jabaliya itself is densely packed—it was established in 1948 as a refuge for Palestinians displaced during an earlier conflict, and it has remained one of the most crowded population centers in Gaza ever since. This week, Israel launched a broader air and ground operation targeting the camp, adding to the pressure on a population already living in extreme conditions.
The current military campaign began roughly a year ago, when Hamas-led militants breached Israeli military bases and agricultural communities known as kibbutzs, killing approximately twelve hundred people, most of them civilians, and taking around two hundred fifty others captive. Hamas still holds roughly one hundred prisoners in Gaza. Israel's response has been sustained and overwhelming—the death toll in Gaza has now exceeded forty thousand since that October 2023 attack.
Israel is currently engaged in military operations on two fronts: against Hamas in Gaza and against Hezbollah in Lebanon. The strikes on Wednesday fit into this broader campaign, though they struck at a population that includes many who have no direct connection to any military organization—families in tents, residents in a refugee camp, children asleep in their homes.
Notable Quotes
Palestinian officials reported at least 18 deaths, including five children and two women, from the coordinated strikes— Palestinian sources to Associated Press
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why were these particular strikes on tent settlements? Were they targeting something specific?
The tents in Nuseirat and Bureij are where people have fled after being displaced from their homes. They're not military positions. Israel says it targets Hamas infrastructure, but these were civilian encampments.
And the hospital confirmed nine bodies. Does that number hold up across the reporting?
Yes—an AP journalist saw them in the morgue. That's direct verification. The other nine deaths came from the strike on Jabaliya, so the eighteen figure is solid.
Jabaliya has been under operation all week. Is this part of a larger push?
It appears so. Israel launched a broader air and ground operation there at the start of the week. This single strike is one piece of sustained pressure on a camp that's been a refugee settlement since 1948.
The death toll is now over forty thousand. Does that number change how people understand what's happening?
It should. A year ago, the initial attack killed twelve hundred. The response has been forty times larger. That scale is the context for every strike now—it's not an isolated incident, it's part of a much larger toll.
And Hamas still holds hostages.
About one hundred, yes. That's part of why Israel says it continues the operation. But the civilian cost keeps climbing.