Israeli Strikes across Northern Gaza Kill at Least 14 People, Including a Family of 5

 Destroyed buildings are seen inside the Gaza Strip from southern Israel, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP)
Destroyed buildings are seen inside the Gaza Strip from southern Israel, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP)
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Israeli Strikes across Northern Gaza Kill at Least 14 People, Including a Family of 5

 Destroyed buildings are seen inside the Gaza Strip from southern Israel, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP)
Destroyed buildings are seen inside the Gaza Strip from southern Israel, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP)

At least 14 Palestinians, including a family of five people, were killed in three separate Israeli airstrikes Monday in northern Gaza Strip, Palestinian medics said.

One strike hit a group of people in the Daraj neighborhood in Gaza City, killing at least seven people including two children, the health ministry’s emergency service said.

Two more people were killed in Jabaliya al-Balad area in northern Gaza, it said. Another five people were wounded in the strike, it said.

A third strike hit Salaheddin school, which shelters displaced families in the western part of Gaza City. The strike killed two parents and their three children, according to the Al-Ahly hospital which received the casualties.

The Israeli military did not have an immediate comment on the strikes but blames Hamas for civilian casualties, saying the fighters operate in residential areas or other civilian locations.



Two Million Syrians Returned Home Since Assad's Fall, Says UN

Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters
Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters
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Two Million Syrians Returned Home Since Assad's Fall, Says UN

Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters
Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters

Over two million Syrians who had fled their homes during their country's war have returned since the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, UN refugee agency chief Filippo Grandi said Thursday, ahead of a visit to Syria.

The Syrian civil war, which erupted in 2011 with Assad's brutal repression of anti-government protests, displaced half of the population internally or abroad.

But Assad's December 8 ouster at the hands of Islamist forces sparked hopes of return.

"Over two million Syrian refugees and displaced have returned home since December," Grandi wrote on X during a visit to neighboring Lebanon, which hosts about 1.5 million Syrian refugees, according to official estimates, AFP reported.

It is "a sign of hope amid rising regional tensions," he said.

"This proves that we need political solutions -- not another wave of instability and displacement."

After 14 years of war, many returnees face the reality of finding their homes and property badly damaged or destroyed.

But with the recent lifting of Western sanctions on Syria, new authorities hope for international support to launch reconstruction, which the UN estimates could cost more than $400 billion.

Earlier this month, UNHCR estimated that up to 1.5 million Syrians from abroad and two million internally displaced persons may return by the end of 2025.