Horrific Israeli strikes on Gaza City’s Shujaiya neighbourhood early on Wednesday killed at least 35 Palestinians and levelled apartment blocks, with medical personnel saying at least 80 people remain trapped under the rubble.
Rescue teams are racing to rescue survivors due to the scale of destruction. The bombing of the neighbourhood has been decried as one of the deadliest in recent days.
Hamas slammed Israel for the “bloody massacre”, saying it was a pattern of violence endorsed by the US.
The group further said the Israeli army committed “brutal crimes carried out in full view of the world against innocent, defenceless civilians”.
Hamas also criticised “timid statements” from Arab and Islamic countries and called on them instead to “pressure the occupation and its supporters in Washington to halt the aggression”, and to cut ties with Israel.
The attacks on the neighbourhood coincided with similar ones across the enclave, including in Khan Younis, where at least two people were killed in an Israeli drone strike on a tent.
Israeli forces have continued their campaign of obliterating buildings in many areas of Gaza, demolishing the majority of homes in southern Rafah, Al-Jazeera’s correspondent in north Gaza reported.
Israel has said it will continue to seize land in Gaza with Defence Minister Israel Katz saying on Wednesday that they will continue occupying the buffer zone between Gaza and Egypt, even if a deal to end the war is reached.
“Large areas are being seized and added to Israel’s security zones, leaving Gaza smaller and more isolated,” he said.
He added Israel is also going to “move to more intense fighting throughout Gaza until the hostages are freed and Hamas is defeated”.
Meanwhile, malnutrition is on the rise in Gaza due to Israel’s complete siege of the territory, which has been ongoing for over a month.
The Palestinian health ministry warned that polio vaccinations are needed urgently and that children are at serious risk of disease.
The continued attacks on the enclave come as around 360 Israeli medics signed a letter urging for an investigation and prosecution of the Israeli troops who took part in the killing of 15 Palestinian emergency workers.
The letter says the killings were a “blatant violation of international law,” and comes amid similar global calls for the accountability of those who killed the staff.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed over 50,000 Palestinians since October 2023, with the actual toll expected to be much higher, the Palestine government media office states. The war has levelled entire neighbourhoods and utterly devastated Gaza
