Scores killed as Israeli jets strike 2 homes near Gaza hospital

By Anadolu staff

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – Scores of Palestinians were reported killed when Israeli fighter jets struck two houses near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday, according to witnesses.

The two houses were destroyed in the strikes that caused massive destruction in the area, eyewitnesses said.

Gaza’s Health Ministry has yet to give an exact death toll from the attack.

The Israeli army raided Al-Shifa Hospital last week as part of its ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip. More than 250 people were killed and 500 others detained in the raid, according to local Palestinian authorities.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Palestinian territory since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed.

At least 32,414 Palestinians have since been killed and 74,787 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

On Monday, the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in Gaza during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

While Hamas welcomed the resolution, Israel rejected the cease-fire call and vowed to continue its war on the Palestinian enclave.

The Israeli war, now in its 172nd day, has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar