UPDATE 2 – At least 34 killed as Israeli army steps up attacks across Gaza

UPDATES DEATH TOLL, CHANGES DECK

By Hosni Nadim

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – At least 34 Palestinians were killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes on refugee tents and homes across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday as the army stepped up its ground assault north of the enclave, according to medical sources.

Israeli warplanes struck two tents for displaced people in the central city of Deir al-Balah, killing six people, including two women and two children, a medical source said.

A basketball player died of his wounds sustained in an Israeli airstrike on his home in the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, the source added.

Three more people lost their lives while several others were injured in another strike targeting a refugee tent east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, another medical source said.

The bodies of four more people were also recovered after an Israeli airstrike on a home in eastern Gaza City, the source said.

Another medical source said the bodies of 20 more people had been removed from the rubble of a home struck by Israeli warplanes on Monday night in the town of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip.

Witnesses said a number of people were still missing and could be under the rubble.

The Israeli army laid a siege in northern Gaza last month, claiming it is trying to stop Palestinian resistance group Hamas from regrouping. Palestinians, however, accuse Israel of seeking to occupy the area and forcibly displace its residents.

More than 1,800 people have been killed since then, according to Palestinian health authorities. Food and other aid are severely limited.

Israel has continued a devastating offensive on Gaza since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas, killing nearly 43,400 people and rendering the enclave almost uninhabitable.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in the blockaded enclave.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar