In roadside Gaza attack, a 4-year-old girl and other children were among those killed

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Massa Abed, 4, brought a rubber ball and her doll to play with friends on the street near her family's home on Sunday. It was a mundane day in Zawaida, the central Gaza town where the Abeds returned weeks ago, with calm largely restored in the area.

But that afternoon, an Israeli strike hit a tent on the side of the road, killing Massa and some of the other children.

Her older brother, 16, grabbed Massa's little body and rushed to the hospital on a donkey cart. When she was pronounced dead, he wailed, holding her.

Days later, Massa's father, Samy Abed, turned the green ball in his hand, describing the incident to The Associated Press.

''She had a ball on her lap with a doll in her hand. Will she fight them with her football or doll?'' he said. ''She's 4 years old. What can she do? She can't even carry a rock.''

The Israeli army did not respond to requests for comment on the strike, and it remains unclear why the area — near the city of Deir al-Balah — was struck or who was targeted. Israeli officials have often blamed Hamas for civilian casualties, saying the Palestinian militant group regularly operates from residential areas and hospitals and accusing it using civilians as human shields.

Since Israel resumed attacksmore than a month ago, at least 809 children have been killed, said Zaher al-Wahidi, a spokesperson with Gaza's Health Ministry.

Overall, the ministry says, more than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war, in October 2023. Ministry officials do not differentiate between civilians and militant deaths but say that more than half the dead have been women and children. Israel says it has killed over 20,000 militants, without providing details on those deaths.

On March 18, a surprise Israeli bombardment shattered a six-week ceasefire mediated by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt; hundreds of Palestinians were killed. Mediation efforts to restore the ceasefire have faltered, and Israel has vowed more devastation if Hamas doesn't release the remaining hostages kidnapped in its rampage on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

That Hamas attack killed some 1,200 people and abducted 250 others. Israel says 59 hostages remain in captivity, at least 35 of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza, not allowing food, medicine, or assistance to enter the strip. The United Nations World Food Program said its stockpiles that it used to feed over 600,000 people daily are empty. Israel says the blockade's aim is to increase pressure on Hamas to release the rest of the hostages and to disarm.

At the hospital where Massa's brother brought her, bodies of her young playmates lay nearby — a reminder, relatives said, of children in danger as attacks continue.

Massa had the confidence and bubbly personality of a teenager, socializing and conversing with everyone, her father said as he scrolled through photos and videos where she played and posed for the cameras.

He soon turned to photos of her body at the hospital.

''We see her when we're asleep. When we wake up, we remember her,'' he said.

Majdi Abed, Massa's uncle, says he has regular visions of her. ''I was sitting right here at 7 a.m., and I felt the girl coming toward me,'' he said, describing how he frequently bursts into tears upon realizing it's not really Massa.

The family still expects her to show up at their breakfast table.

But, her father said, ''her spot is empty.''

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Chehayeb reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Fatma Khaled in Cairo contributed to this report.