Israel on Sunday launched “extensive ground operations” in the Gaza Strip even as a new offensive in the Palestinian territories killed at least 130 people, including dozens of children in the overnight attack.
The Israeli airstrikes killed more than 48 people near the southern city of Khan Younis, hitting houses and tents of the displaced people, Associated Press reported.
Nasser Hospital spokesperson Weam Fares said eighteen children and 13 women were among those killed as the authorities struggled to count the dead because of the condition of the bodies.
A separate strike in northern Gaza killed nine members of a family in the Jabaliya refugee camp while a third strike on a residence in Jabaliya killed 10, including seven children and a woman.
“Over the past week, the IAF conducted a preliminary wave of strikes, striking over 670 Hamas terror targets throughout Gaza to disrupt enemy preparations and support ground operations. The IAF continues to provide consistent support to operating troops in Gaza. Thus far, the troops eliminated dozens of terrorists, dismantled terrorist infrastructure sites above and below ground, and are currently being deployed in key positions within Gaza,” the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said on X.
The IDF will continue to operate against the terrorist organizations in Gaza as required, in order to defend Israeli civilians, it added.
The announcement of a new offensive comes after sources on both the sides said there has been no progress in the new round of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas in Qatar.
The Israeli military, while announcing the ground operations, said that preliminary strikes over the past week killed dozens of militants and struck more than 670 targets.
The strikes come as Tel Aviv continues to impose a blockade on food, medicine and other supplies for a third month.
Speaking on the food blockade to Gaza, UN Secretary António Guterres said, “The situation for Palestinians in Gaza is beyond description, beyond atrocious & beyond inhumane. A policy of siege & starvation makes a mockery of international law. The blockade against humanitarian aid must end immediately. This is a moment for moral clarity & action.”
Israel launched the offensive on Saturday with the aim of seizing territory, displacing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to Gaza’s south and taking greater control of aid distribution.
The Israeli attacks in the Palestinian territories have killed more than 53,000 people, including 17,000 children since the Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attacks, according to Gaza health authorities.
