At least 21 Palestinians, including women and children, have been killed in a series of Israeli air strikes that hit homes and a vehicle in several areas of Gaza, in a new violation of the ceasefire that has been in force since October 10.
Gaza Civil Defence spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal said on Saturday that five people were killed and others wounded after an Israeli drone strike targeted a civilian vehicle near the Abbas Junction in western Gaza City.
In the same city, four Palestinians were killed when an Israeli strike hit a home on al-Labbabidi Street.
In central Gaza, Bassal said two Palestinians were killed and others wounded when an Israeli strike targeted a house near the Bilal bin Rabah Mosque in western Deir al-Balah.
In the Nuseirat refugee camp, three Palestinians were killed when an Israeli strike struck a home next to Al-Awda Hospital.
Also, in Nuseirat, seven Palestinians were killed after an Israeli strike hit a home in Camp 2.
Destroying vast areas
The Israeli army continues to blow up residential buildings and facilities by carrying out air strikes and detonating booby-trapped vehicles in the eastern parts of Rafah and Khan Younis, which fall under the Israeli-controlled yellow zone, southern Gaza.
Similar air strikes and explosions were reported in Gaza City’s eastern Al-Tuffah and Shujaiya neighbourhoods, as well as artillery shelling and occasional gunfire from Israeli military vehicles positioned on the edge of the yellow zone, witnesses said.
On Friday, the Israeli army targeted Palestinian buildings in army-controlled areas in Khan Younis, Gaza City, Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, and Jabalia refugee camp in the north.
Israel continues to occupy more than 50 percent of Gaza under the ceasefire agreement, with the “yellow line” separating areas under army deployment from those inhabited by Palestinians.
Recently, the Israeli army re-escalated its attacks east of the yellow line, destroying vast areas and rendering nearby zones highly hazardous to civilians.
Since October 2023, the Israeli army has killed nearly 70,000 people in Gaza, primarily women and children, injured over 170,800, and reduced the enclave to rubble.
