GAZA/OSLO (VG) Family man Ziad Shakoura (46) was at home with his wife and four children when their house was bombed by an Israeli drone.
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– Fortunately, we were not injured, but our house was hit, says Shakoura to VG.
The 46-year-old says that the family was at home when a drone hit the top of their house.
The family lives in a refugee camp just north of Gaza. Here, the houses are close together, according to VG’s freelancers on site.
Shaqoura’s neighbors were hit even harder and are now in hospital, according to the father of the family.
Both father, mother and two sons were present during the attack, according to Shaqoura. The neighboring family survived, but all were injured.
Shaquora does not know the extent, beyond the fact that her mother has a serious injury to her arm.
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The attacks continue
On Saturday, several media reported that 14 have been killed and at least 110 people have been injured after an Israeli air attack on Gaza on Friday.
Among of rights is a child and members of the Islamic Jihad militant group.
Late on Saturday evening there were reports that the death toll has risen:
According to AFP, citing Palestinian authorities, the number of people killed is now 24. Of these, six of the victims should be children, according to the news agency.
The attacks on Friday came after several days of tension. The background is that a high-ranking member of Islamic Jihad was captured by Israeli forces.
The group says they are behind more than 160 rockets against several Israeli cities, as a response to Friday’s attack.
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In the Israeli city of Modiin, the counter-attacks triggered the air raid alert and people were seen running towards shelters, according to Reuters.
Despite the many rockets, no serious injuries were reported, as the missiles were largely intercepted by the Israeli Air Force.
A number of the rockets have also landed in open areas, according to the NY Times.
On Saturday, the attacks against Palestine will also continue. Several media outlets report that buildings in Gaza are to be injured in an attack by the Israeli military.
The Israeli army has itself stated that it will continue to attack Islamic Jihad in Gaza. Among other things, the military is said to have carried out targeted attacks against the militant group’s weapons depots.
– I am very concerned about the escalation in and around Gaza, stated Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt in a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday.
–– The sky is orange
A person VG’s freelancer has spoken to on the ground tells of a rain of bombs in Gaza over the past 24 hours.
– There are several explosions in the sky, during the day the sky is covered in white smoke, while at night the sky is orange and we hear explosions.
Islamic Jihad has not stated how many of its members were killed in this weekend’s attack, but it is known that one of the leaders was killed in Friday’s attack.
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In addition, the Israeli military has released information that it has arrested 19 members of the militant group since the attacks began on Friday.
An official member of the group has signaled after the fighting that Islamic Jihad is warning of a counter-attack – not a ceasefire.
Islamic Jihad is a small organization in Palestine with less support than the two larger parties Fatah and Hamas.
The group is not part of ordinary political activities, nor does it stand for election to the Palestinian National Assembly.
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The conflict could escalate further if Hamas, another Islamic militant group, begins to take part in the fighting.
Envoys from both the UN, Qatar and Egypt are now making efforts to end the fighting.
– While I’m talking to you, the bombs continue, writes VG’s freelancer on Whatsapp on Saturday evening, just before 18.00.
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