Bodies of Palestinians recovered following Israeli army withdrawal from central Gaza town

By Hosni Nadim

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Emergency teams in Gaza retrieved on Monday bodies of Palestinians following a five-day limited incursion by the Israeli army into the eastern regions of Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, sources and witnesses said.

The military withdrew from the city, but Palestinians attempting to return to their homes were targeted, leading to multiple casualties.

Emergency teams were able to access the areas previously occupied by the Israeli military and recover the bodies.

The military also demolished numerous homes and razed several residential and agricultural zones.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

More than 37,000 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and vast tracts of the territory lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio