Palestinian children play near the wreckage of a car in the Al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
Israeli forces sent tanks deeper into areas in the Gaza Strip’s south yesterday as fighting with Palestinian resistance movement Hamas raged, and Gaza health officials said Israeli military strikes had killed 66 Palestinians across the enclave in the past 24 hours.
Tanks pushed further into the three towns of Al-Karara, Al-Zanna, and Bani Suhaila, in the east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, and medics said at least nine Palestinians were killed earlier yesterday by Israeli military strikes in those areas.
Residents said fierce fighting could be heard in eastern areas of Khan Younis where the army was operating. The new incursions caused thousands more families to leave their homes and head to overcrowded areas in Al-Mawasi to the west, and north to Deir Al-Balah.
Later yesterday, two separate Israeli air strikes on Khan Younis killed at least 15 Palestinians, medics said.
One air strike on a tent area in the Mawasi district killed five people including a four-month-old girl named Maria Abu Ziada. Al-Mawasi in western Khan Younis is a humanitarian-designated area where the Israeli army has been ordering Palestinians from other places to go.
The Israeli military said it was aware of the report and looking into it.
Another airstrike on a house at the centre of Khan Younis city killed 10 people, health officials said.
The Israeli occupation army’s offensive in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, has resulted in the martyrdom of 39,324 Palestinians.
Meanwhile, in Rafah, near the border with Egypt, Israeli forces advanced deeper into northern parts of the city, where they have yet to take full control. In Central Gaza, the Israeli military called upon Gazans to evacuate parts of the Bureij and Shuhada areas.
In the Tel Al-Hawa suburb of Gaza City, an Israeli air strike killed four Palestinians, medics said. Israel has lost 328 soldiers in combat in Gaza.
