By Anadolu staff
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Thousands of Palestinians fled large areas of southwest Gaza City when Israeli forces early Monday morning unexpectedly intruded for the first time in over three months and opened heavy fire targeting roads, homes, and residential buildings, resulting in dozens of casualties.
The Israeli forces' incursion prompted a mass exodus of thousands of Palestinians to the city's northwestern neighborhoods.
An Anadolu correspondent reported that Israeli military vehicles entered the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood, the industrial area, the university zones, and the southern outskirts of the Rimal under heavy fire from fighter jets and artillery.
Massive explosions and continuous air and heavy artillery bombardment targeted eastern, central, and western Gaza City overnight and into Monday morning, witnesses told Anadolu.
This was the first large-scale military offensive since the Israeli army's attack near Al-Shifa Hospital and its surroundings at the end of March.
Palestinian medical sources reported that the Israeli airstrikes targeted residential buildings, roads, and apartments, resulting in dozens of casualties in various parts of Gaza City.
Due to the intensified bombardment, rescue and medical teams have been unable to move to help the injured or retrieve the dead.
Witnesses also reported that Israeli forces heavily used smoke and gas bombs in different areas of Gaza City, particularly in the new incursion areas.
Thousands of Palestinians fled from the city’s southwestern areas to the northwest and spent the night in the streets without shelter, according to the witnesses.
On Sunday, the Israeli army ordered residents and displaced people in the Tuffah, al-Daraj and Old City neighborhoods to immediately evacuate to shelters in the western part of the city.
The Israeli army has been targeting the Shejaiya neighborhood, which is located near Tuffah, Daraj, and Old City, since June 27.
The army's actions in these areas in recent days have resulted in dozens of Palestinian casualties.
Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.
More than 38,150 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 87,800 others injured, according to local health authorities.
Nine months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie 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 it to immediately halt its military 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 in Istanbul