According to Palestinian medics, an aerial attack by Israeli forces in the southern part of Gaza Strip has claimed 29 innocent lives most of whom were women and children who had taken shelter in tents outside a school in Abassan, east of Khan Younis. The Israeli military said that it was investigating reports of civilian casualties adding that it aimed at a Hamas fighter involved in the October 7 raid on Israel with “accurate weapon.”
Ismail Al-Thawabta, the head of media office for Gaza’s Hamas-run government reported that strikes by Israel inside central Gaza left 60 Palestinians dead and injured dozens yesterday. Residents fled their homes in Gaza City as the Israeli tanks moved into Tel Al-Hawa, Shejaia and Sabra neighborhoods where they bombed buildings and roads. The evacuation orders were posted on social media by the IDF for various districts on eastern and western sides of Gaza City.
“These dreadful slaughters against civilians are blame upon the occupation and American administration,” stated Thawabta.
During early Wednesday morning, many humanitarian distress calls from residents of Gaza city went unanswered due to intense bombing according to Palestine Red Crescent. The fighters from Hamas as well as Islamic Jihad movement claimed responsibility for engaging Israeli forces with machine guns, mortar fire as well as anti-tank missiles during which some Israeli soldiers lost their lives.
In its briefing however, Israel’s military did not comment about its casualties but explained that its troops had bee involved in close-quarter combat with militants killing more than 150 terrorists over the past week while demolishing explosive-laden houses.
The renewal of this escalating campaign threatened ongoing ceasefire talks which Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh warned could bring negotiations “back to square one.” Accordingly, video footage uploaded on social media showed families escaping through donkey carts loaded with mattresses and other things or aboard trucks following evacuation orders given by Israelis.
Palestinian Red Crescent also announced that all its medical clinics in Gaza City were out of service due to the fact that Israel had told thousands of people to leave. Independent human rights experts mandated by the UN have warned that nine months of war and displacement has resulted in a hunger crisis and famine throughout Gaza as indicated by the recent deaths of several children due to malnutrition.
An early attack on a multi-storey residential building in Al-Nuseirat, central Gaza killed 17 people including 14 kids, woman (Hamas’ media office). Neighbors joined medics and responders who were pulling dead bodies and looking for survivors from under the debris.
More than 40 Palestinians died on Tuesday in Israeli air strikes at different locations across Gaza thus increasing their total number during this nine-month assault on Palestine to 38,243 according to Gaza health officials. However this latest escalation has dimmed hopes after Hamas agreed to accept one component of a US-brokered ceasefire proposal last week.
