UPDATE - Dozens of Palestinian casualties as Israel pounds northern Gaza Strip

CHANGES LEDE; UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS, ADDS ISRAELI ARMY STATEMENT

By Hosni Nadim and Zein Khalil

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Dozens of Palestinians on Saturday were killed and injured in violent and unprecedented Israeli raids targeting areas in central Gaza Strip.

The Israeli attacks coincided with a sudden incursion of military vehicles to the east and northwest of Nuseirat camp in central Gaza.

Eyewitnesses told Anadolu that Israeli artillery and warplanes have been conducting violent and intense raids for hours on areas east of Deir al-Balah, al-Bureij and al-Maghazi camps, as well as various locations in the center, west, and east of the Nuseirat camp.

Eyewitnesses added that columns of black smoke were rising from all parts of the central Gaza Strip due to the unprecedented air and artillery bombardment targeting these areas.

According to eyewitnesses, Israeli military vehicles suddenly entered the areas east and northwest of the Nuseirat camp, coinciding with intense artillery shelling targeting large portions of the camp.

Witnesses also reported that Israeli vehicles also advanced near the Gaza Valley on Salah al-Din Road in the central Gaza Strip.

“Israeli drones are densely flying over the Nuseirat camp, firing on anyone moving on the camp's roads, resulting in numerous deaths and injuries,” paramedics told Anadolu.

Medical sources told Anadolu that dozens of casualties arrived at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central city of Deir al-Balah due to Israeli air strikes and shelling.

Also, eyewitnesses told Anadolu that violent clashes erupted between Palestinian resistance groups and Israeli forces in the eastern part of Deir al-Balah, the Al-Bureij and Al-Maghazi camps, and north of the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip.

They added that Israeli military vehicles expanded their incursion east of the city under heavy fire cover.

Official Palestinian news agency Wafa also reported that "occupation aircraft launched violent missile and artillery bombardment on the Zaytoun and Tel Al-Hawa neighborhoods in Gaza City, and the Nuseirat, Al-Maghazi and Al-Bureij camps in the central Gaza Strip."

Medical sources at the Baptist Hospital reported receiving four bodies of Palestinians due to Israeli aircraft bombing a house in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army confirmed on Saturday launching a “large-scale and unprecedented attack” on the Nuseirat camp and other areas in the central Gaza Strip.

In a statement, the army said that its forces are attacking “infrastructure” in the Nuseirat area.

The daily Yedioth Ahronoth described the massive attack on the Nuseirat camp as “unprecedented.”

The Israeli Walla website also said that the Israeli Air Force is bombing Deir al-Balah and the Nuseirat camp, while naval boats are bombing the outskirts of Gaza City.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since a Hamas attack last Oct. 7 despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 36,700 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and over 83,500 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lay 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 Tel Aviv to immediately halt its 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 Ikram Kouachi