By Nour Abuaisha
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - The Israeli army killed two Palestinian families late Monday after bombing a home that was sheltering them in the town of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip.
"The Israeli army bombed a house that was sheltering two families from the Al-Kahlout clan, consisting of 25 individuals, burying them under the rubble," said Abdel Rahman Al-Kahlout, a relative of the families.
"Israel has committed another massacre, wiping out two families entirely from the civil registry,” he added.
The first family included the father, his children, their spouses and grandchildren, while the second family consisted of the father, mother and their two daughters.
Al-Kahlout noted that the two families had fled to Beit Hanoun from the Jabalia refugee camp during an ongoing military operation.
He said their bodies remain trapped under the rubble of the destroyed house and in the street as rescue operations are impossible due to the dire security situation.
The assault was the latest episode in a genocidal war launched by Israel on Gaza since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas in October last year, killing more than 44,700 people, mostly women and children.
Last month, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and 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 deadly war on Gaza.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala