Palestinian International Organization for Peace and Human Rights

9 April 2025

What happened?

On the morning of 9 April 2025, shelling struck a populated residential block in the Shuja’iyya neighborhood east of Gaza City. Reports from that day described civilians being killed and wounded.

Impact on civilians

The density of residential buildings increases the risk that a single strike will harm multiple families, while rubble can prevent rescuers from reaching the wounded quickly.

Protection of Residential Areas

International humanitarian law requires parties to distinguish between combatants and civilians, verify targets and take precautions in attack. The legality of any operation must be assessed in light of information available at the time and the foreseeable harm to civilians.

What is needed to protect residents?

These developments require careful monitoring of the reported attack and its effects on civilians in Shuja’iyya, providing information to affected families and ensuring access to medical care, humanitarian relief or remedies appropriate to the harm suffered. Established facts must be distinguished from legal assessments that require investigation by competent authorities.

Image: Illustrative archival photograph; it does not necessarily show the incident described in this article. Image credits and licensing information on Wikimedia Commons