Palestinians mourn the loss of their loved ones killed by Israeli strikes in north Gaza [Getty/file photo]
Gaza rescuers said Israeli strikes in Gaza on Sunday killed at least 30 people, as the Israeli military pursues its offensive ongoing for at least a month.
“Since dawn today, at least 17 citizens have been martyred in Israeli attacks on homes and citizens in the northern Gaza Strip,” said Gaza’s civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal.
Among the dead were six in the town of Beit Lahia and four in Jabalia. They included women and children, he said.
Muhammad Salha, director of Al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia, described the situation as “horrific”.
He said in a statement the only general surgeon left in northern Gaza was working at his hospital, where more than 70 percent of injuries required urgent surgical intervention.
Since October 6, Israel’s military has conducted a sweeping air and ground assault in northern Gaza, particularly in the areas of Jabalia, Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun, claiming it is fighting against Hamas members.
Hundreds have been killed since the brutal offensive began in early October.
“The Israeli occupation has continued around-the-clock bombardment of civilian homes, especially in northern Gaza,” Bassal said on Sunday.
“This shelling has led to the destruction of numerous buildings and infrastructure… Over 100,000 residents are in northern Gaza without food, water or medicine,” he added.
He told AFP that residents were “being bombed without prior warning”.
UNICEF chief Catherine Russell on Saturday warned that all Palestinians, particularly children, are faced with ‘imminent death’ as the offensive continues.
Separately, medics in Gaza in the south said 13 Palestinians were killed in several Israeli strikes on Sunday.
Medics from the health ministry in Gaza reported “the martyrdom of nine citizens, including four children, in an Israeli air strike east of Khan Younis“.
The civil defence agency said it retrieved three bodies, of a woman and her two children, after a raid on Rafah’s eastern Khirbet al-Adas neighbourhood.
One more person was also reported killed, the agency added.
At least 43,341 Palestinians have been killed in over brutality carried out by the Israeli military since October last year. Thousands more are feared buried under rubble and unaccounted for.
