Israel kills dozens of Palestinians in Gaza airstrikes; many trapped under rubble

By Ramzi Mahmud

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Dozens of Palestinians were killed and injured late Saturday in Israeli air and artillery strikes that targeted homes in the Gaza Strip, particularly in the northern governorate, which witnessed its heaviest bombardment in five months.

Palestinian Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal reported that several Palestinians were killed and others injured in attacks that targeted homes, gatherings and shelters.

Bassal said earlier that "teams are unable to cope with the large number of residential houses targeted by the Israeli occupation tonight in the northern strip."

"There are still people trapped under the rubble of these houses, which the teams are unable to reach due to the ongoing bombardment and the lack of heavy rescue equipment,” he said.

Bassal noted that in the north “five Palestinians were killed and others injured in an Israeli attack on a group of citizens in Beit Hanoun, and several others were injured in an attack on citizens at the Abu Sharkh roundabout, in addition to the killing of others in an attack on a house belonging to the Abdullah family in the Jabalia camp."

Several Palestinians were killed and injured in an Israeli attack on a house belonging to the Farah family in Jabalia town, and another killed and dozens missing due to an attack on a house belonging to the Shaaban family in the same area, he added.

Three additional Palestinians were killed in an attack on a house belonging to the Al-Arabid family in the Bir al-Na’ajah area in western Jabalia, and a Palestinian woman was killed in an attack on a residential apartment in the Khodour building behind a UN agency for Palestinian refugees agency clinic in the Jabalia refugee camp.

Bassal reported that several Palestinians were killed and injured in an Israeli attack on the vicinity of the Jabalia Services Club, which shelters displaced people in the north.

He noted that a Palestinian was killed in an attack on a house belonging to the Saleh family in Jabalia, and another killed in an attack on a house belonging to the Afanah family in Bir al-Na’ajah.

An Anadolu correspondent reported that the eastern and western areas of the northern strip witnessed intensive Israeli shelling, the heaviest in five months, targeting inhabited homes.

The correspondent reported that the bombardment caused a wave of displacement toward Gaza City and its center, coinciding with the sounds of Israeli vehicles near the western and eastern borders of the northern governorate.​​​​​​​

Regarding the middle area, Bassal said 13 Palestinians were killed in scattered airstrikes.

In the southern city of Rafah, the Civil Defense spokesperson reported the recovery of one person who was killed and injuries to others from the Zghlul area, and three others killed in Khirbat al-Adas.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire, Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza following an attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, last Oct. 7.

More than 41,800 victims have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 96,800 injured, according to local health authorities.

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 actions in Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala