Israeli forces launch assault on Beit Lahia, northern Gaza

By Jomaa Younis and Ikram Kouachi

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Israeli army forces launched an assault on the western areas of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza on Friday morning, accompanied by heavy gunfire and artillery shelling, according to eyewitnesses.

Witnesses reported that Israeli tanks moved deeper into the city, firing intensively in an area already devastated by the ongoing war.

Meanwhile, Israeli warplanes bombed a residential building on Al-Sinaa Street in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood, southwest of Gaza City. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

More than 700 Palestinians have been killed and over 900 injured in a surprise aerial campaign by Israel on Gaza since Tuesday, shattering a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold in January.

Nearly 50,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 112,000 injured in a brutal Israeli military onslaught in Gaza since October 2023.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

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