Relatives mourn their loved ones after Israel carried out deadly attacks in the northern Gaza Strip [Getty/file photo]
Israeli troops killed at least 22 Palestinians, most of them in the northern Gaza Strip, on Sunday in airstrikes and other attacks on targets that included a school sheltering displaced Gazans, medics and residents said.
They said at least 11 of the dead were killed in three separate Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City houses, nine were killed in the towns of Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun and Jabalia camp and two were killed by drone fire in Rafah.
Residents said clusters of houses were bombed and some set ablaze in the three towns, where the Israeli army has been carrying out a brutal offensive for over two months, with an aim of “ethnically cleansing” the area from its Palestinian residents under the so-called ‘General’s Plan’.
The Israeli army also seeks to create a buffer zone there, and treats any Palestinians who have not evacuated from the area as Hamas members, thus subjecting them to violence.
In Beit Hanoun, Israeli forces besieged families sheltering in Khalil Aweida school before storming it and ordering them to head towards Gaza City, the medics and residents said.
Medics said several people were killed and wounded during the raid on the school while the army detained many Palestinian men.Â
Separately, Israel said its air force struck a command and control center in a compound in the Abu Shabak clinic in northern Gaza, which was destroyed. The medica facility also included a mental health clinic.
Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip has killed almost 45,000 people since October 7 last year, and has displaced nearly the entire population and left much of the enclave in ruins.
A bid by Egypt, Qatar and the United States to reach a truce has gained momentum in recent weeks, yet there has been no news of a breakthrough.Â
