UPDATE 3 - 24 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza

CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE, UPDATES DEATH TOLL, ADDS DETAILS

By Mustafa Haboush

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - At least 24 Palestinians, including four medics, were killed on Friday when the Israeli army targeted homes in the Gaza Strip, medical sources and officials said.

Sources told Anadolu that bodies of 18 Palestinians, who were killed in Israeli airstrikes targeting their homes in northern Gaza, were brought to the Kamal Adwan Hospital.

The Health Ministry separately confirmed the death of a Palestinian teenager in an Israeli drone strike that targeted the facility.

Israeli forces withdrew from the hospital in Beit Lahia after storming it, forcing patients and the wounded to evacuate, according to witnesses.

Hossam Abu Safiya, the hospital's director, said the facility was “overwhelmed by casualties.”

“There is a large number of martyrs and wounded, including four of our medical staff," he said, adding: "The situation inside and around the hospital is dire, and we are running out of medical supplies as casualties continue to arrive."

According to the sources, an Indonesian medical delegation was evacuated from the hospital to Gaza City with the assistance of Palestinian Red Crescent vehicles, coordinated with Israeli authorities.

In another attack, two Palestinians were killed and several others injured when Israeli strikes hit the Al-Rafie School, which was sheltering displaced civilians in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip.

Separately, in southern Gaza, three Palestinians were killed, and others injured in an airstrike targeting civilians in Khirbet Al-Adas near Gaza City.

Overall, Israel has killed more than 44,000 Palestinians in its onslaught on Gaza since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks.

Last month, the International Criminal Court 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 war on Gaza.

Human rights group Amnesty International, in its latest report, said it “has found sufficient basis to conclude that Israel has committed and is continuing to commit genocide against Palestinians in Gaza."

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi