On Thursday night, 11 May 2023, and Friday morning, 12 May 2023, Israeli warplanes continued to attack numerous targets throughout the Gaza Strip, including houses and residential units, farmlands, and military sites. Israeli artillery also participated in the attacks, firing tens of shells at the eastern and northern areas of the Gaza Strip. Al Mezan’s documentation shows that since 9 May 2023, 31 Palestinians were killed, including six children and four women, and 106 others were injured, including 36 children and 21 women. In addition, 13 homes were entirely destroyed, and hundreds of others were damaged.[1]

In parallel to its assault, Israel further tightened its unlawful closure measures by completely closing Gaza crossings, thereby preventing the entry of basic necessities and humanitarian supplies into the Strip, and denying medical patients access to hospitals outside Gaza. The ban on the entry of fuel threatens the functioning of Gaza’s sole power plant, which might cease its operation completely, thus jeopardizing the continued provision of basic services such as medical care and the supply of drinking water to families.

Below are the main Israeli attacks against the Gaza Strip that took place on the evening of 11 May and up to 1 p.m. on 12 May, based on Al Mezan’s initial documentation: 

• At approximately 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, 11 May 2023, Israeli warplanes launched a missile at a house in the village of Bani Suheila, east of Khan Younis City, killing the Islamic Jihad leader Ahmed Mahmoud Abu Daqqa, 43, and injuring four others, including a woman and a child.
• At approximately 5:00 p.m. the same day, Israeli artillery fired a large number of shells at farmlands in the eastern neighborhood of al-Shujaiya, east of Gaza City, killing two Palestinian resistance members: Hussein Youssef Dalloul, 23, and Mohammed Suleiman Dader, 31, both residents of al-Zaytoun neighborhood, east of Gaza City. Two more people were injured in the attack, with medical sources at al-Shifa Hospital describing their injuries as moderate and serious.  
• At approximately 6:40 p.m. the same day, Israeli warplanes launched six missiles, nearly around the clock, at a two-story house on a 320 m² plot of land belonging to the sons of Saleh Fathi Bashir in Deir al-Balah City (Middle Area District). The house consisted of four residential apartments, where four families of 13 lived, including four children and six women. The attack completely destroyed the house and caused property damage to nearby houses. No injuries were reported.
• At approximately 7:10 p.m. the same day, Israeli warplanes launched five missiles at the two-story house of Zuhair Ibrahim Abu Khater, 57, located behind the Al-Weam Association in the Qlibo area (North Gaza District). Two families of 10 people, including two children and three women, lived in the house. The attack completely destroyed the house and caused property damage to nearby houses. Israeli forces called one of Abu Khater’s family neighbors to inform him about their intention to strike the house and fired four drone missiles 20 minutes before totally destroying it. No injuries were reported in the attack.
• At approximately 9:20 p.m. the same day, Israeli warplanes fired a missile at a group of people in the vicinity of al-Khir tower near the al-Qirm crossroad, east of Jabaliya (North Gaza District), killing Abdelhalim Jawdat al-Najjar, 22, a resident of Jabaliya, and injuring a number of people.  
• At approximately 11:00 p.m. the same day, an Israeli drone fired a missile at Odai Riyad al-Louh, 25, a Palestinian resistance member, in the vicinity of al-Dawa mosque, north of al-Nusairat refugee camp (Middle Area District). He was rushed to Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah and was pronounced dead on arrival.
• At approximately 12:05 a.m. on Friday, 12 May 2023, Israeli warplanes fired one missile at a four-story house belonging to the sons of Nafez Ghalab Doghmosh, near the former Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) building, west of Tal al-Hawa neighborhood in Gaza City. Four families of 23 people lived in the house, including 12 children and five women. The attack led to the injury of one person and caused partial damage to the house. Israeli forces called one of the house’s residents to inform him about their intention to strike the house.
• At approximately 5:00 a.m. the same day, medical sources at the Indonesian Hospital in North Gaza District announced the death of Elayyan Ata Abu Wadi, 38, a resident of Jabaliya. He died of the wounds sustained in the attack on the al-Qirm crossroad in Jabaliya.

Al Mezan reiterates its strongest condemnation of Israel’s ongoing military offensive against the Gaza Strip and the deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian objects, as well as the continued closure of Gaza crossings, which dramatically worsens the humanitarian conditions of more than two million Palestinians living in the Strip.

Al Mezan calls on the international community to promptly intervene and put pressure on Israel to immediately stop its military attack on the Gaza Strip, re-open the crossings, lift the illegal closure and blockade, and provide protection for Palestinian civilians. Al Mezan also calls on the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to investigate blatant Israeli crimes being committed in the Gaza Strip and hold all perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity to account.

[1] Figures as of 1 p.m. (Gaza time) on 12 May 2023.