At least 33 killed by Israeli strikes in northern Gaza

2024-10-19 20:00:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

At least 33 people were killed and dozens wounded in Israeli attacks that targeted several houses in a square on Friday in Jabaliya, the largest refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, medical teams in the area said. Residents of this camp said the tanks blew up roads and houses as they continue to advance further into Palestinian territory.

The official Palestinian news agency WAFA said at least 20 women and children were among those killed. Doctors said at least 85 other people were injured. Israeli authorities have yet to comment on the attack.

Before the new attacks, health authorities in the Gaza Strip said at least 39 Palestinians, 20 of them in Jabalia, had been killed by Israeli military strikes across Gaza on Friday.

Residents of the Jabalia camp in northern Gaza said Israeli tanks had reached the center of the camp, aided by heavy artillery and airstrikes.

They added that the Israeli army was destroying dozens of houses a day, from the air and the ground.

The Israeli military said its forces, which have been operating in Jabalia for the past two weeks, killed dozens of militants during fighting on Thursday and carried out airstrikes, destroying military infrastructure of Palestinian militants.

Later on Friday, residents in Jabalie and two nearby towns said communications and internet services had been disrupted, also disrupting search and rescue operations by ambulance medical teams and the ability of people affected by the Israeli operations to seek help

The escalation of the Israeli operation in Jabaliya comes a day after Israeli authorities announced that the Israeli army had killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. He was considered Israel's enemy number one because he was accused of being the architect of the October 7, 2023 attack in southern Israel, the deadliest in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Israeli military says its operation in Jabalia is aimed at preventing Hamas fighters from regrouping and carrying out new attacks on Israel.

Israel has repeatedly struck refugee camps and schools housing displaced persons in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military says it carries out precision strikes on militants and tries to avoid civilian casualties, but its strikes often kill women and children.

The current war in the Gaza Strip began after a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 in southern Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and about 250 others were taken hostage.

More than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli military offensive so far, according to Gaza health authorities./ Voa