Bleeding Gaza: At least 57 people killed in as Israeli military launches series of strikes, health officials confirm
GAZA CITY, GAZA - OCTOBER 24: A Palestinian man mourns as civil defense teams and residents conduct a search and rescue operation for Palestinians stuck under the debris of a demolished building following Israeli airstrikes hit Al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, Gaza on October 24, 2023. (Photo by Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Israeli forces battled Hamas-led fighters in several parts of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, and Palestinian health officials said at least 57 people were killed in Israeli bombardments of southern and central areas.
The Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas has accused Israel of stepping up attacks in Gaza to try to derail efforts by Arab mediators and the United States to reach a ceasefire deal. Israel says it is trying to root out Hamas fighters.
In Rafah, a southern border city where Israeli forces have been operating since May, five Palestinians were killed in an airstrike on a house, Gaza health officials said. In nearby Khan Younis, a man, his wife, and two children were killed, they said.
Later on Tuesday, an Israeli airstrike on a car killed at least 17 Palestinians and wounded 26 others in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the officials said.
The airstrike hit near a tented area housing displaced families in Attar Street in the humanitarian-designated area of Al-Mawasi, the health ministry said.
The Israeli military said the strike targeted a senior militant of the Islamic Jihad group, an ally of Hamas.
“We are looking into the reports stating that several civilians were injured as a result of the strike,” the military statement said.
Reuters footage showed residents carrying bodies of the dead and wounded on donkey carts and in rickshaws to hospitals.
Israel vowed to eradicate Hamas after its militants killed 1,200 people and took over 250 hostage in an attack on southern Israeli communities last Oct. 7, according to Israeli tallies.
At least 38,713 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory offensive since then, Gaza health authorities said in their latest update on Tuesday. Israel also says 326 of its soldiers have been killed in Gaza.
Reuters
