At least 37 people have died in Gaza due to Israeli attacks during the past hours
Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip have killed at least 37 Palestinians in the past few hours, according to local medical sources and EFE agency reports. The attacks are concentrated mainly in the south of the enclave, in and around the city of Khan Yunis, as well as in Rafah.
During this morning, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) bombed the Al Amal neighborhood in Khan Younis. Eleven people, including four children, were killed when a family’s home collapsed in an airstrike. Israel has also attacked with drones the Katiba area, in the city center, killing eight more people. Five other people lost their lives when a motorized tuk-tuk collided with a vehicle a few kilometers outside the city, according to the Gaza Civil Defense.
In addition, another person was killed by artillery fire from the Israeli army on tents of displaced people in the same area. In total, hospitals in the area have received 32 bodies in the past few hours, according to Palestinian medical sources.
The attacks are not limited to Khan Younis. In the city of Rafah, located in the south of the Strip adjoining the Gaza border with Egypt, three bodies have been recovered from the rubble left after the latest Israeli attacks, although it is feared that dozens of bodies are still buried, Palestinian sources tell EFE via. The area has been one of the main centers of Israeli attack in recent weeks. The IDF claims that several Hamas members were killed during the operation and at least 150 tunnels used by Islamist militias in Rafah were destroyed.
The Israeli military said this morning that it killed Taha Abu Nada, a senior commander of Hamas’ weapons manufacturing division, during military operations. “The air force carried out a precision strike based on IDF intelligence and killed terrorist Taha Abu Nada,” the Israeli military said in a statement. Israel claims that Abu Nada was responsible for the production of rockets and other weapons equipment used by Palestinian militias to attack Israel, and they consider his elimination a “significant blow” to the Islamist group’s operational capability.
In Khan Yunis, where thousands of Palestinians took refuge until a few weeks ago, Israeli bombing has destroyed infrastructure and forced the civilian population to flee again. Nearly 250,000 people have been forced to move since the beginning of August due to successive evacuation orders issued by Israel – 12 so far this month – leading to a drastic reduction in the areas considered safe in the enclave, according to the report of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). Of the 230 square kilometers that were previously considered safe humanitarian zones, only 35 square kilometers remain, equivalent to 9.5% of Gaza’s area.
A few days ago, the NGO Doctors Without Borders condemned the forced displacement of Palestinians under Israeli orders. “Following new attacks today by Israeli forces, thousands of people from Deir al Balah and Khan Younis, including MSF staff, are fleeing to various areas of Al Mawasi, where already thousands of people are living in overcrowded areas in catastrophic conditions under the evacuation order to the population, “he announced on Wednesday.
According to Gaza Health Ministry figures, 40,265 Palestinians have been killed since the conflict began, and 93,144 have been injured. In addition, Gaza authorities say about 10,000 people are still missing, possibly trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings.
