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At least 11 killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza: civil defense

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At least 11 killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza: civil defense

2026-02-16 09:40 Last Updated At:12:53

Gaza's Civil Defense agency said on Sunday that at least 11 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes across the enclave, revising an earlier toll of nine.

Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal said Israeli aircraft carried out strikes from dawn to midday in several areas.

One person was killed and several others wounded when a drone struck a group in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood west of Gaza City, he said. Local sources identified the dead man as Sami al-Dahdouh, a member of the Islamic Jihad movement. The group did not immediately comment.

Basal said three people were seriously wounded in a separate drone strike west of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza.

Earlier, 10 people were killed in two airstrikes that hit a tent sheltering displaced people in the Jabalia refugee camp in the north and a gathering in Khan Younis in the south, he added.

There was no immediate comment from Israel on Sunday's strikes.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem accused Israel of committing massacres in a serious breach of the truce.

Since the ceasefire took effect, 601 Palestinians have been killed and 1,607 wounded, according to Gaza health authorities, who put the overall death toll since Oct 7, 2023, at 72,061, with 171,715 wounded.

Gaza health authorities said Sunday that the Rafah Crossing with Egypt is operating under strict limits that endanger thousands of patients needing medical treatment abroad.

In a statement, officials said the partial reopening of the crossing on Feb. 2 allows only a small number of travelers, far short of the minimum humanitarian obligations owed to the sick and wounded.

The authorities said more than 20,000 patients, including critical cases of cancer, heart disease, kidney failure, and severe injuries, are awaiting treatment abroad.

Health officials called for the permanent, unrestricted opening of the crossing, immediate evacuation of critically ill patients, and an increase in traveler quotas to meet urgent medical needs.

They urged international and humanitarian organizations to intervene, describing access to treatment as a fundamental human right protected by international law.

Patients' lives are not mere statistics, the statement said, warning that continued restrictions could lead to further loss of life.

The limited crossing began on Feb 2 under a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. In the past two weeks, about 320 patients and escorts exited Gaza and roughly 320 entered, according to Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT).

The crossing has been nearly closed since May 2024, when Israeli forces took control, isolating Gaza further and worsening the humanitarian crisis. Rafah remains the main land route for Gazans traveling abroad for medical treatment, study, and work.

At least 11 killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza: civil defense

At least 11 killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza: civil defense

The Palestinian Presidency on Sunday said Israel's decision to reopen land registration in the West Bank constitutes a de facto annexation aimed at entrenching the occupation through illegal settlement expansion.

In a statement, the presidency said the move violates international law, poses a threat to security and stability, and marks a dangerous escalation. The decision contradicts UN Security Council resolutions, including Resolution 2334, which deems all settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, illegal.

"Measures will not grant the Israeli occupation legitimacy over the land of the State of Palestine or alter the legal and historical status of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza," the statement said.

Palestinian leaders called on the international community to intervene to halt the move and enforce international law.

Meanwhile, Hamas described the decision as "null and void" and an attempt to impose a "Judaizing settlement reality by force." The group vowed to resist all efforts to impose annexation, displacement, or settlement projects and urged international parties to protect Palestinians' rights to land, self-determination, and statehood with Jerusalem as the capital.

Israel on Sunday approved a plan to register West Bank land as "state property," a move that could strengthen Israeli claims and facilitate settlement expansion. The plan, submitted by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, and Defense Minister Israel Katz, was approved by the cabinet, according to a joint statement.

For the first time since the 1967 Middle East war, which brought the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza under Israeli control, the cabinet authorized a land registration process in the West Bank. The Land Registry and Settlement of Rights, a government authority under the Justice Ministry, will carry out the process with dedicated staff and budget.

The ministers said the move would allow a "transparent and thorough clarification" of property rights. Much of the West Bank has never undergone systematic registration, with ownership claims relying on Ottoman, British Mandate, or Jordanian records.

The decision is the latest in a series of measures by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government aimed at expanding settlements. Palestinian officials have warned that formalizing Israeli state claims over land in Area C could further undermine prospects for a negotiated two-state solution.

The West Bank is seen by most of the international community as occupied territory. Palestinians seek it as the core of a future independent state.

Israel retains control of over 60 percent of the West Bank, defined as Area C outside the Palestinian enclaves known as Areas A and B, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Palestine denounces Israel's West Bank land registration decision

Palestine denounces Israel's West Bank land registration decision

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