Israeli strikes martyr 17 Palestinians in Gaza
GAZA, Dec 22 (SABAH): Israeli military strikes across the Gaza Strip martyred at least 17 Palestinians, eight of them at a school sheltering displaced families in Gaza City.
Palestinian medics said eight people, including children, were martyred in the Musa Bin Nusayr School that sheltered displaced families in Gaza City.
The Israeli military said in a statement the strike targeted Hamas fighters operating from a command centre embedded inside the school. It said Hamas used the place to plan and execute attacks against Israeli forces. Also in Gaza City, medics said four Palestinians were martyred when an airstrike hit a car.
At least five other Palestinians were martyred in two separate airstrikes in Rafah and Khan Younis south of the enclave.
In the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, where the army has operated since October, Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, said the army ordered staff to evacuate the hospital and move patients and injured people toward another hospital in the area.
Abu Safiya said the mission was “next to impossible” because staff did not have ambulances to move the patients.
The Israeli army has operated in the two towns of north Gaza, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, as well as the nearby Jabalia camp for nearly three months.
Palestinians have accused Israel of carrying out acts of “ethnic cleansing” to depopulate those areas to create a buffer zone.
Israel denies this and says the campaign in the area aimed to fight Hamas fighters and prevent them from regrouping. It said its forces have martyred hundreds of them and dismantled military infrastructure since that operation began.
Armed wings of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad said they killed many Israeli soldiers in ambushes during the same period. Mediators have yet to secure a ceasefire between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas.
Israel began its assault on Gaza after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel says about 100 hostages are still being held, but it is unclear how many are alive.
Authorities in Gaza said Israel’s campaign has martyred more than 45,000 Palestinians and displaced most of the population of 2.3 million. Much of the coastal enclave is in ruins.