At least 42 dead in Israeli attacks in Gaza, reports the enclave’s media office

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

CAIRO (Reuters) – At least 42 people were killed in Israeli attacks on neighborhoods in Gaza City in the north of the Palestinian enclave on Saturday, the director of the Hamas-run state media office said.

An Israeli attack on houses in Al-Shati, one of the eight historic refugee camps in the Gaza Strip, killed 24 people, Ismail Al-Thawabta told Reuters. Another 18 Palestinians were killed in an attack on houses in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood.

The Israeli military released a brief statement saying: “Recently, Israel Defense Forces fighter jets attacked two Hamas military infrastructure sites in the Gaza City area.”

It was said that further details would be released shortly.

Hamas did not comment on Israel’s claim that its military infrastructure was hit. It said in a statement that the attacks were directed against civilians and in another statement vowed: “The occupation and its Nazi leaders will pay the price for their abuses against our people.”

Reuters has obtained footage showing dozens of Palestinians searching for victims in destroyed homes. The footage shows destroyed homes, blown-up walls and rubble and dust filling the streets in the Shati refugee camp.

The Israeli ground and air offensive in the Gaza Strip was triggered by the incursion of Hamas-led militants into southern Israel on October 7. According to Israeli sources, they killed around 1,200 people and took over 250 hostages.

The offensive has left Gaza in ruins and, according to Palestinian health authorities, has killed more than 37,400 people, including 101 in the last 24 hours. Almost the entire population is homeless and destitute.

More than eight months after the war began, Israel’s advance is now focused on the last two areas that its forces had yet to capture: Rafah on the southern border of the Gaza Strip and the area around Deir al-Balah in the center.

Residents reported that Israeli tanks have stepped up their incursions into the western and northern areas of Rafah in recent days. On Saturday, Israeli forces bombed several areas from the air and ground, forcing many families living in the areas designated as humanitarian zones to flee north.

The Israeli military said its forces continued their “precise, intelligence-based” targeted operations in Rafah, killing numerous Palestinian gunmen and destroying military infrastructure.

On Friday, Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 25 Palestinians were killed and 50 wounded in Mawasi, west of Rafah. Palestinians said a tank shell hit a tent housing displaced families.

The Israeli military said the incident was being investigated. “An initial investigation indicates that there is no evidence that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out an attack in the humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi,” it said.

(Reporting and writing by Nidal al-Mughrabi; additional reporting by Jaida Taha and Ari Rabinovitch; editing by Sharon Singleton and Frances Kerry)