Israeli forces stepped up their offensive in northern and central Gaza on Wednesday, hours after an airstrike targeted a tent camp in which, according to Palestinian authorities, more than twenty people died, and when negotiations to end the fighting were about to resume.
Leaflets were dropped on Gaza Citythis time with a map indicating “safe routes” for the evacuation of the entire city, not just certain districts. Israeli leaflets urge civilians to head south along two routes in the central Gaza Strip.
The Hamas militant group said the renewed Israeli offensive had killed more than 60 Palestinians across the enclave on Tuesday and threatened to derail efforts to secure a ceasefire. in the nine-month war, talks on which are set to resume in Doha on Wednesday.
The airstrike hit tents of displaced families in front of a school in the town of Abassan, east of Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza.killing at least 29 people, most of them women and children, Palestinian health sources said.
The Israeli military said it was looking into reports of civilian injuries. He said the incident occurred when a Hamas fighter who took part in the October 7 attack on Israel was hit with “precise ammunition.”
On Wednesday, Israeli forces deepened their incursion into two districts of Gaza City. Soldiers carried out house-to-house searches in some areas. and tanks shelled several homes, residents said.
Israeli forces patrolled the main road leading to the coast, snipers occupied the rooftops of some tall buildings that were still standing and Tanks were parked inside the headquarters of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWAaccording to residents.
The Israeli military said in a statement that its forces were continuing operations in Gaza City against Hamas militants and their ally, Islamic Jihad, who they said had operated from inside UNRWA facilities, using it as a base to carry out attacks.
“After a defined corridor was opened to facilitate the evacuation of civilians from the area, IDF (Israel Defense Forces) soldiers carried out a targeted raid on the structure.eliminated the terrorists in hand-to-hand combat and located large quantities of weapons in the area,” the military said.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said it had received dozens of desperate calls from residents in Gaza City. trapped in their homes, but their teams were unable to reach them due to the intensity of the bombing.
“Information from Gaza City shows that residents are living in tragic conditions.. The (Israeli) occupation forces “They continue to hit residential districts and displace people from their homes and shelters,” it said in a statement.
The armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad claimed that the fighters fought with Israeli forces. operating in the area with anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs and sometimes in hand-to-hand combat.
In al-Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, medics said six Palestinians, including children, were killed in an airstrike. against a house early on Wednesday, while another airstrike killed two people and wounded several others in Khan Yunis.
More than 38,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the start of the waraccording to health authorities in the Palestinian enclave.
The war broke out when Hamas-led militants infiltrated southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages to Gazaaccording to Israeli figures.