Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip have resulted in the deaths of 32 individuals, according to a statement from the health ministry in the Palestinian territory on Friday. This incident occurs more than nine months into the ongoing conflict.
The violence has been widespread, with fighting occurring from the northern to the southern regions of the coastal territory. Efforts are ongoing to negotiate a truce and a hostage-release deal amidst the continued hostilities.
Hamas militants captured several hostages during their unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7. Gaza’s health ministry reported in a brief statement that “32 martyrs, a majority of them children and women, were taken to hospitals overnight because of continued massacres” by Israeli forces.
Hamas media sources noted that there were “more than 70 airstrikes” across various parts of Gaza, including Gaza City in the north, the Nuseirat refugee camp in the center, and Khan Younis and Rafah in the south.
The Israeli military announced on Friday that its operations are ongoing in Rafah, near the Egyptian border. A military statement indicated that troops had “eliminated numerous terrorists in close-quarters combat and aerial strikes, and dismantled terrorist infrastructure in the area” over the past day.
In central Gaza, Israeli troops reported killing an unspecified number of militants who “posed a threat,” as well as discovering a weapons production workshop and a substantial amount of funds intended for terrorist activities.
In the far-northern region of Beit Hanoun, Israeli aircraft targeted areas from which projectiles had been launched into southern Israel on Thursday, according to the military.
On Thursday, approximately 60 bodies were discovered under the rubble in Gaza City’s eastern Shujaiya neighborhood by Gaza’s Civil Defense agency. This discovery followed a two-week Israeli military operation which, according to Gaza’s Civil Defense and local residents, left the area devastated.
Civil Defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal stated that 85 percent of the buildings in Shujaiya are now uninhabitable, describing the neighborhood as a “disaster zone.”
On Wednesday, the Israeli army urged all residents of Gaza City to evacuate, labeling the area as a “dangerous combat zone.” The United Nations has reported that up to 350,000 people have been residing in the city, many of whom have been repeatedly displaced by the ongoing conflict.
