Israeli strikes kill at least 42 in Gaza, enclave's government media office says
At least 42 people were killed in Israeli attacks on
districts of Gaza City in the north of the Palestinian enclave on Saturday, the
director of the Hamas-run government media office said.
One Israeli strike on houses in Al-Shati, one of the Gaza
Strip's eight historic refugee camps, killed 24 people, Ismail Al-Thawabta told
Reuters. Another 18 Palestinians were killed in a strike on houses in the
Al-Tuffah neighbourhood.
The Israeli military released a brief statement saying:
"A short while ago, IDF fighter jets struck two Hamas military
infrastructure sites in the area of Gaza City."
Hamas did not comment on the Israeli claim to have hit its
military infrastructure. It said in a statement the attacks targeted the
civilian population and vowed in a statement "the occupation and its Nazi
leaders will pay the price for their violations against our people."
Footage obtained by Reuters showed dozens of Palestinians
rushing out to search for victims amid the destroyed houses. The footage showed
wrecked homes, blasted walls, and debris and dust filling the street in Shati
refugee camp.
Israel's ground and air campaign in Gaza was
triggered when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7,
killing around 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 hostages, according to
Israeli tallies.
The offensive has left Gaza in ruins, killed more than
37,400 people, of whom 101 were killed in the past 24 hours, according to
Palestinian health authorities, and left nearly the entire population homeless
and destitute.
More than eight months into the war, Israel's advance is now
focused on the two last areas its forces had yet to seize: Rafah on Gaza's
southern edge and the area surrounding Deir al-Balah in the centre.
Residents said Israeli tanks deepened their incursion into
western and northern Rafah areas in recent days. On Saturday Israeli forces
bombed several areas from air and the ground, forcing many families living in
areas described as humanitarian-designated zones to leave northwards.
The Israeli military said forces continued "precise,
intelligence-based" targeted operations in Rafah, killing many Palestinian
gunmen and dismantling military infrastructure.
On Friday, the Gaza health ministry said at least 25
Palestinians were killed
in Mawasi in western Rafah and 50 wounded. Palestinians said a tank
shell hit a tent housing displaced families.
The Israeli military said that the incident was under
review. "An initial inquiry conducted suggests that there is no indication
that a strike was carried out by the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) in the
Humanitarian Area in Al-Mawasi," it said.
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