The Israeli military conducted airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, resulting in the destruction of three apartment buildings and the death of 44 people. The strikes, which were part of a larger 11-day air campaign, were the deadliest of the day and targeted Hamas, the group governing Gaza.
The Israeli military used advanced precision-guided bombs, hitting Ishkantana's neighborhood more than 20 times that night. The strikes were said to be carefully targeted, but investigations revealed that some of the heaviest bombs in Israel's arsenal were dropped without warning on a densely packed neighborhood, with limited intelligence about what they were attacking.
Israel claimed that they were targeting a tunnel, but later admitted that they had hit an underground command center. However, they stated that they hadn't known its size or exact location before they bombed it. Israel alleges that Hamas intentionally builds military infrastructure under residential buildings, a violation of the laws of war.
The strikes led to a significant number of civilian casualties, with at least 230 people killed according to the United Nations and the Gaza health ministry. The Israeli military dropped the heaviest bombs it uses on a regular basis, the GBU-31 and the Mark 84, within feet of the apartment buildings.
The strikes have had a devastating impact on the community, with many families left homeless and the survivors living under the rubble. The airstrikes have left only Ishkantana to care for his seven-year-old daughter, Susie.
The Israeli military's actions have been widely criticized, with experts stating that such strikes on a dense civilian neighborhood could be a war crime and should be part of an ongoing investigation into Palestine by the International Criminal Court.
1. An Israeli airstrike took down three apartment buildings in Gaza, killing 44 people.
2. Riyadh Kantana and his family were pulled from the rubble alive.
3. The strikes were the deadliest of the 11-day Israeli air campaign in May.
4. The Israeli military used advanced precision-guided bombs to hit Kantana's neighborhood more than 20 times that night.
5. The military stated that these strikes were carefully targeted, but an investigation showed that some of the heaviest bombs in Israel's arsenal were dropped without warning on a densely packed neighborhood.
6. There is no evidence that Israel directly targeted the apartment buildings. Initially, they claimed they were aiming at a tunnel which collapsed and brought the buildings down.
7. The Israeli military says Hamas intentionally builds military infrastructure under residential buildings, which would be a violation of the laws of war.
8. Israel says that Hamas fired rockets toward Israel in retaliation for Israeli police raids and evictions in East Jerusalem.
9. Israel responded with 11 days of bombing, which killed at least 230 people according to the United Nations and the Gaza Health Ministry.
10. During the same time frame, Hamas launched more than 4300 rockets at Israel, killing 13 people.
11. The neighborhood of Rimal in downtown Gaza City was one of the areas most ravaged by Israeli airstrikes.
12. Rimal is an upscale neighborhood in an impoverished territory that's been blockaded by Israel and Egypt since Hamas took power in 2007.
13. Israel said the intense bombing of the Rimal neighborhood was part of a strategy to destroy the Hamas tunnel system, which it calls the "metro".
14. Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of creating an underground city of tunnels.
15. The Israeli military used precision-guided bombs in the form of GBU-31 Mark 84, equipped with a JDAM guidance kit, which allow the bombs to strike with precision using GPS.
16. The Red Cross states that weapons like these should not be used in urban areas due to potentially dangerous consequences.
17. The Israeli military programmed the fuses to allow these bombs to explode deep underground to increase the impact on the tunnels and minimize damage above.
18. The survivors of the Allah Street strikes spent the night beneath the rubble.
19. Among the 22 people killed in the building, 15 were members of the Abu Lahou family, including Ayman Abelauf, a doctor and head of internal medicine at Darashife Hospital.
20. Another 22 members of the Kolak family were killed, ranging in age from 6 months to 90 years.
21. Ish Kantana and his daughter are now staying with his uncle, who was working as a waiter in a restaurant but lost his job due to the coronavirus pandemic.