UPDATE - 8 Palestinians killed, several injured in Israeli airstrikes on northern, southern Gaza

CHANGES in HEADLINE AN LEDE, UPDATES DEATH TOLL AND ADDS MORE DETAILS

By Mohamed Majed

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – At east eight Palestinians were killed and several others injured in an Israeli airstrike on northern and southern Gaza on Saturday.

Medical sources told Anadolu that the airstrike in Beit Lahia left three people dead and several wounded.

The injured were transported to nearby hospitals, including Al-Ahli Baptist and Kamal Adwan hospitals, for urgent medical care.

Eyewitnesses reported intense artillery shelling by Israeli forces in Beit Lahia and Jabalia, with dozens of houses destroyed in western Jabalia.

Loud explosions and thick plumes of smoke were visible in the area, indicating the Israeli army's ongoing military offensives.

Medical sources also told Anadolu that three more bodies were recovered from the rubble of a home targeted by Israeli forces in Gaza City's neighborhood.

In a separate attack, the Palestinian Civil Defense reported that two bodies were discovered following an Israeli strike in the Khirbet Al-Adas area, north of Rafah in southern Gaza.

Since Oct. 5, Israel has launched a large-scale ground operation in northern Gaza, claiming its goal is to prevent Hamas from regaining strength in the area. However, Palestinian officials assert that the military offensive is aimed to forcibly depopulate northern Gaza and establish a buffer zone.

Israel has continued its devastating offensive against Gaza since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 of last year. The onslaught has killed nearly 43,800 people and rendered the enclave almost uninhabitable.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi