A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Israeli airstrikes killed more than 500 people in Gaza and wounded 900 others this week, according to Gaza's health ministry. Israel says it's targeting Hamas. The bombs have also struck homes, particularly in the north of the tiny coastal strip. That is where NPR's producer, Anas Baba, went to see the impact. He shared his reporting with NPR correspondent Aya Batrawy in Dubai. And a warning, this report contains graphic descriptions of war some might find disturbing.
AYA BATRAWY, BYLINE: A temporary ceasefire had been holding for two months, with many Palestinians in Gaza believing war was over. But war is back, and people are on the move again.
(SOUNDBITE OF WIND BLOWING)
BATRAWY: It's windy and cold. Parents and their kids, many of them barefoot, are heeding Israeli evacuation orders and fleeing damaged homes they'd only just returned to in the ceasefire. They walk on dirt roads, past neighborhoods of rubble, dragging gas canisters, blankets and empty water jugs.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Non-English language spoken).
(CRYING)
BATRAWY: And once again, the wailing grief of mothers fills Gaza's hospitals. At the Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza, tiny white shrouds are stacked atop larger ones. These are the lifeless infants who will be buried with their parents, killed in overnight attacks. Gaza's health ministry says 200 children have been killed since the first blitz of Israeli airstrikes Tuesday.
UNIDENTIFIED DOCTOR: (Non-English language spoken).
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Wincing).
BATRAWY: Umm Mohammed Abu Nasr (ph) watches as doctors tend to her 5-year-old son after an Israeli airstrike Thursday.
UMM MOHAMMED ABU NASR: (Non-English language spoken).
BATRAWY: "Out of nowhere, we just found the house bombed," she says. "We were asleep, my cousins, sister-in-law, all the kids. What did they do to deserve this," she says.
NASR: (Non-English language spoken).
BATRAWY: Israel sent ground troops back to parts of Gaza. The military says it's striking Hamas infrastructure and that it killed Hamas officials in its attacks this week that shattered the tenuous ceasefire. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, backed by a far-right coalition, says the offensive was launched to complete the war's aims of freeing Israeli hostages held in Gaza and destroying Hamas, the group that attacked Israel in 2023. The White House says it supports the return to war. But in Israel?
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting in non-English language).
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
BATRAWY: Thousands have taken to the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in recent days to protest the decision, saying it endangers the lives of hostages. In Gaza, hospitals are strained and families shattered. Israel continues to block the entry of medical supplies, food, fuel and all goods into Gaza, warning that what comes next will be harsher than anything Gaza has already seen.
Aya Batrawy, NPR News, Dubai, with Anas Baba in Gaza. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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