16 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes on central, southern Gaza Strip

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA (AA) – At least 16 Palestinians were killed and several others injured in Israeli airstrikes targeting homes in different parts of the Gaza Strip on Sunday morning.

Medical sources told Anadolu that 11 Palestinians were killed when two homes in the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza were struck by Israeli warplanes.

Separately, five Palestinians were killed in an airstrike on an area east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, they added.

Meanwhile, witnesses in northern Gaza reported that the Israeli army has demolished dozens of homes in the Al-Fakhoura neighborhood west of the Jabalia refugee camp.

Since Oct. 5, Israel has launched a large-scale ground operation in northern Gaza, claiming its goal is to prevent Hamas from regaining strength in the area. However, Palestinian officials argue that the operation aims to forcibly depopulate northern Gaza and establish a buffer zone.

Israel has continued its devastating offensive against Gaza since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 last year. The onslaught has killed nearly 43,800 people and rendered the enclave almost uninhabitable.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi